Rainstorm
by nayod78
Summary: Due to a mishap in Amegakure, Jiraiya was forced to escape with Nagato, Yahiko and Konan in tow. Though the three orphans are sad to leave their home, they quickly rise in fame among the genin of Konoha!
1. Prolouge

**Rainstorm Chapter 1**

***Prologue***

Well, here I go again! I'm taking a brief break from Darkness: The Bane of Dojutsu to figure out the tournament fights, so I'm starting a story I've wanted to for a while! This story will follow Yahiko, Nagato, and Konan as a freak event causes them to have to escape Amegakure with Jiraiya. Also, for those who were wondering, I don't know about the pairings yet. This story is set back where there are no pairings I can mess with without effectively erasing canon characters, so… Yeah. Reviews welcome, I need to know if I'm doing this story right! Thanks,

Nayod.

* * *

Three children stared at a white haired man, tears barely concealed by the constant rain of Amegakure. The boy with orange hair sniffled.

"Why do you have to leave, Jiraiya-sensei? Can't you stay? We need you here!" he said, and Jiraiya sighed.

"I'm sorry, Yahiko, there's nothing I can do. I have to return to Konoha. Besides, if I stay any longer, Hanzo will be on to us."

"Jiraiya-sensei, please! I… We, don't want you to leave," the one with long, red hair covering his eyes said quietly.

When the blue-haired girl next to him nodded, Jiraiya sighed again. "Really, you two as well, Konan, Nagato? I expected this from Yahiko, but you two usually are fine with this stuff. Again, I'm sorry, but I'm a shinobi for another village and have duties to attend to," as the white-haired man turned around and began walking over the soaked ground, he raised his hand to wave. "I hope to see you again someday!"

As Jiraiya began walking away, the three orphans stood silently, tears flowing freely from their eyes, but not chasing him. Jiraiya suddenly stopped, pivoted on his foot and jumped back towards them, tackling them a few meters away. Where the orphans once stood, an explosive kunai was lodged, and Jiraiya used his long hair to shield them from the explosion.

Jiraiya got up, and turned to see a shinobi of average height with long, blonde hair and a mask-like respirator. He wore a long black cloak and had the Amegakure symbol engraved in his forehead protector. "You kids stay down and out of sight. This guy is real trouble." Jiraiya face the man, who stood waiting. "What do you want, Hanzo of the Salamander? I'm leaving your village now. You will not see me again."

"I wasn't supposed to see you now. It's been how long now, Jiraiya? Two years since you were originally supposed to leave? I would kill you now, but I'm a reasonable man. As for the spies you've been training, right under my nose, at that," Hanzo hissed, "I _will _kill them now. I will not have you leaving spies." The masked man lifted his chain sickle over his head, ready to strike.

"NO! Don't kill them, please! I only trained them so they could survive in this village in this time of need, not to spy on you!" Jiraiya panicked, putting himself between Hanzo and the children.

Hanzo lowered his weapon slightly. "I will give you two days. In that time you will leave this village, and you will take your _spies _with you. I will leave you two _escorts _to make sure you get out, with those three." Immediately two shinobi in cloaks resembling Hanzo's appeared behind the children, making Jiraiya hiss in annoyance. Hanzo disappeared in a cloud of smoke, leaving Jiraiya, Nagato, Yahiko and Konan alone with the two Ame-nin.

"Ugh. C'mon kiddies, let's go pack up your stuff," Jiraiya said, annoyed he had to take care of these three back at Konoha. He was planning on going on another research trip!

Konan and Nagato were still staring, stunned, at the shinobi behind them, but Yahiko quickly pushed Nagato slightly so his Rinnegan wouldn't show, whispering, "Watch your eyes, Nagato. Don't let them see them."

Nagato nodded near invisibly, while Konan got up and walked next to Jiraiya silently, clinging to him like he was a safety blanket. As they walked down the path of puddles, Jiraiya saw the shinobi disappear, but still felt their presence.

* * *

The group made their way to the hideout. They stopped at the entrance, then Yahiko pushed opened the door, followed by Nagato. Konan looked to Jiraiya for confirmation, and as he nodded she followed.

Yahiko spoke up as they walked by the "Hop-in" planks; Yahiko flipped his to the white side. "We're going to come back to this place, guys. No doubt about it."

"Definitely," Konan said with a forced smile, flipping hers over as well. Nagato nodded and did the same. Jiraiya ruffled Nagato and Yahiko's hair, smiling.

"It seems you guys got your wish. You're coming with me! Now get packed up! I'm still on a schedule here!"

They were done packing almost as soon as he told them to. Being orphans, they didn't have much to their name. In fact, they only had the clothes on their backs, bedrolls, and the frog suits Jiraiya gave them, which, surprisingly, they had all packed. Konan also had a collection of origami she kept in a small bag, and Nagato had a necklace that used to be his mothers. Once they were all packed, Jiraiya had them line up.

"Now, you guys, when you get to the village, I'll enroll you in the Academy. Though I think what they teach there is bogus compared to the survival techniques I taught you…" Jiraiya muttered under his breath, "It will be necessary for you to learn to become full-fledged shinobi of Konoha."

Yahiko growled, "I wanted to save Amegakure, not become a Konoha shinobi."

"Well, according to Hanzo, you can't do that if you stay in Amegakure. He would have killed you, so suck it up and learn how you can do it anyways," Jiraiya sated sternly, then he looked and Konan and Nagato. "Any other objections? No? Then let's get moving!"

* * *

It took less than five hours to get to the edge of the Amegakure border into the Land of Fire. As Jiraiya felt the shinobi behind them depart, he stopped the orphans. Yahiko nearly crashed into him, Konan skidded to a halt next to him, and Nagato fell to the ground. They were all out of breath, except for Jiraiya, since they weren't used to running for so long. Jiraiya had set a pretty fast pace, so once they were able to stop the slumped down against a rock together. That is, except for Nagato, who had to crawl a little bit then sit up next to Konan and Yahiko.

Jiraiya stared at his students, all lined up neatly against the rock, and smiled to himself. "Why aren't you three just cute all lined up like that," he taunted, watching as their faces turned red, but they were too tired to move away from each other. "Grab some food out of your packs, it's going to take a while for me to explain all of this." The orphans obeyed, each taking a small rice cake out of their packs and nibbling on it.

"For now, forget about going back to Amegakure. You have no ties there, and you need to be focused on Academy work."

Konan stopped mid-nibble and Yahiko's mouth was left gaping, and even Nagato's Rinnegan eyes widened.

"B-but sensei, that's the reason we're training to become ninja! We can't just give up on it!" Konan stuttered, her face flustered.

"Yeah sensei, we were going to go back and kick that bastard Hanzo's ass!" Yahiko yelled, raising his fist.

"Umm… I actually get where he's coming from…" Nagato muttered, "If we don't focus on the work in the moment, we will not be ready when we face Hanzo."

The other two stared at him in disbelief, but Jiraiya nodded. "This kid understand what I'm saying! If you don't focus on now, you will skip valuable information that could help you then. Besides, you need to be at least an A-rank shinobi to even escape Hanzo. It will be years before you even have a chance against him, even together! So, right now, say to me you will forget about going back to Amegakure!"

"I will forget about going back to Amegakure," Konan and Nagato said instantly, and after a brief delay Yahiko muttered it too.

"Good. Second, you must realize I might not be your teacher. In fact, I probably won't be. I leave often to go on research trips, so I haven't been assigned a genin team for a long while now. I would say you would be on separate teams, but you probably won't be. The Third Hokage, Hiruzen Sarutobi, is understanding."

The three in front of him nodded in understanding.

"Last… Don't mess with Tsunade or Orochimaru. They're scary."

Nagato nodded, but Konan and Yahiko looked at him blankly. Tsunade is the blonde lady, right?" Konan asked. "I thought she was nice… I understand Orochimaru, though. He wanted to kill us!"

"Yeah! When can I take the snake jerk on!" Yahiko yelled.

Jiraiya quickly tried to change the subject. "It's getting late, we're setting up camp here. I'll be writing in my tent if you need me. Only a chapter left…"

"Umm… Jiraiya-sensei, we don't have tents, remember? We haven't needed them," Nagato reminded him.

Jiraiya sighed. "Sleep under the trees, for all I care. Just don't come into the tent!"

Ten minutes later, Jiraiya's tent was set up, and the three orphans had laid out their bedrolls next to each other, and were lying together watching the stars while Jiraiya wrote his novel on a folding table right outside his tent. Nagato was staring into the sky, slight grin on his face. "Just think of it. We'll have our own home! Now we won't have to live on the streets, we'll have food constantly! No one will treat us like rats anymore…"

Yahiko grunted. "We're also leaving our parents behind."

Konan looked at the orange-haired kid sadly. "Our parents are dead, Yahiko. Just because they died in Amegakure doesn't mean they would have wanted us to stay living as orphans. They would have wanted us to live happily… wherever that might be."

"Yeah… I guess you're right. Thanks, Konan," Konan blushed as he thanked her, and turned on her side to hide it.

"We had better go to sleep. We want to get to Konoha by morning!" Nagato said, a bit more energetic than he usually was.

"Goodnight guys!" Yahiko said.

"Goodnight," Konan said.

"See you in the morning," Nagato affirmed.

Together, the three orphans fell asleep, smiles lighting their faces.

* * *

"Nagato… Hey, Nagato, wake up!" Yahiko whispered to the red head as he nudged him.

Nagato opened his purple eyes and looked around, noticing it was still dark. "What is it, Yahiko? Why didn't you wake Konan too?"

A sly smile emerged on Yahiko's face. "Sensei left the tent a while ago, and hasn't come back… and he left his novel in there! I figured, since he didn't want us to see it, we could go look at it now!"

Nagato, though he saw his friends reasoning, was still confused. "Again, why did you wake me?"

"Well… umm… Actually, it's because you can read better than I can," Yahiko sweatdropped.

After a moment of internal debate at his friend's expense, Nagato nodded. "Let's do this."

Quietly as they could, the two children tip-toed across the clearing that led to Jiraiya's tent, and Nagato peaked inside to check that the tent was still empty. Confirming that, he also caught sight of a pile of papers on the ground next to Jiraiya's bedroll.

"Okay, we're clear, Yahiko."

The two silently entered the tent, and Yahiko stayed by the entrance to make sure no one was coming. Nagato began reading, but stopped in confusion. "It's just a tale about a shinobi named 'Naruto.'" He began skimming through the pages. "It's just action. There's nothing we couldn't have- oh my gosh," Nagato stammered, eyes wide and mouth agape.

"What is it, Nagato?" Yahiko stepped over to look over the redhead's shoulder. "They're just kissing… What does that word mean?" Yahiko asked, pointing to a word on the paper. Nagato leaned over and whispered in his ear, causing the color to drain from Yahiko's face.

"And this one?" Nagato whispered the answer to him again, causing his eyes to widen.

"This one?" another whisper, and Yahiko's mouth hung open.

"WHAT THE HELL-" Yahiko's screams were silenced as Nagato clamped a hand over his mouth.

"Be quiet, or he'll hear you! Just read!" the Uzumaki said, not looking up from the paper, the stunned look in his face becoming more and more pronounced.

Yahiko nodded, and together they sat, staring blankly at the pages in front of them, when suddenly the entrance to the tent opened.

A bleary-eyed Konan walked in, yawning. "What are you guys doing?" she asked. Noticing the shocked looks on their faces and the novel in front of them, she pouted. "You didn't even wake me up?" she walked over so she was standing behind them. "Let me see!" As soon as she leaned her head over their shoulders, Nagato's hand went up in front of her eyes, blocking her view.

"Aww c'mon! I want to see it!" Konan moved so the was looking over Yahiko's out shoulder, Yahiko's did the same thing Nagato's did. Annoyed, Konan pushed them out of the way and grabbed the page they were reading. She turned so she was facing away from them, and held them back with one arm while she read the page with the other.

Her pleased look from her success was quickly replaced by one of horror. "How could… Who would do that to a woman… Sensei wrote this? WHAT-" Before she could yell, both boys had a hand over her mouth, but they hadn't realized something. It had started raining, and an annoyed looking soaked Jiraiya walked into the tent, stopping mid-step when he was his students reading his novel.

"Oh crap… Well kids, now that you've read that, we're going to have to have a little talk," Jiraiya tried to cover. All three of the kids took on a disappointed look and started pushing past him.

"Not happening," Nagato commented.

Yahiko grunted. "I never thought my sensei was a sick pervert."

"Remind me never to be in a room alone with that man," Konan said, making sure she didn't make eye contact with Jiraiya.

Almost a minute later, all three of them walked back into the tent, bedrolls in hand, wet with rain water. Yahiko moved over to Jiraiya's bedroll, picked it up, and threw it out into the rain.

"Hey! That was mine!" Jiraiya yelled.

"I'm not taking any chances. For all I know, you're a pedophile too. Pedophiles sleep in the rain, away from the children," Yahiko commented darkly. Nagato seemed somewhat sad about being mean to Jiraiya, but was quickly making himself at home, while Konan wouldn't even look at him.

Knowing he just needed to wait until they cooled off, Jiraiya left the tent, setting up a basic jutsu to keep the rain off of him while he slept. Unbeknownst to him, Yahiko had gotten right back into reading his novel, much to the disdain of Konan and Nagato, while Jiraiya was asleep. When he woke up, Jiraiya would find one of his best pages was missing!

* * *

**Author's Notes: **So how'd you like it? This was one of the stories I've been dying to write. I always like the Ame orphans, and this was too good of a story to pass up! Who knows, I might continue this story into the next generation… Who knows! Anyways, if you liked the story, favorite, follow and my favorite…. Review!

Thanks,

Nayod.


	2. Konoha

**Rainstorm, Chapter 2**

***Konoha***

Sup people! Man, was I surprised at last chapter's reaction! I've only written one other story, and it didn't get nearly the response this one got! I mean 2 reviews and 3 favorites, and 6 follows? It might sound wimpy to some of you, but for me it's pretty awesome! Thanks for the support, and thanks to the two reviewers who saved me from messing up the timeline!

Nayod

Disclaimer: I don't own Naruto. Since I forgot this last chapter, this counts for that one too!

* * *

Jiraiya and the Ame orphans walked down the quiet, forested path, only an hour from Konoha. The three children ran ahead, entranced with the wildlife. Konan was crouched over on the side of the road, staring at a beautiful orange butterfly, lights in her eyes and she pulled out a piece of paper and began to fold it experimentally. Yahiko was running around, practically dancing under the sun, with Nagato following slowly behind, a bit more apprehensive. Jiraiya watched his three students from where he was following them, a smile appearing on his lips. He stared into the sky, blissfully taking in the clear weather. Jiraiya's bliss was interrupted when he felt a tug on his sleeve, and looked down to see Yahiko staring up at him with a pondering expression.

"Hey, Jiraiya-sensei, can you talk to Nagato?" Yahiko asked, taking a sideways glance at the redhead, who was currently watching Konan's origami butterfly fly around.

Jiraiya looked at Nagato. He seemed to be happy enough, smiling and laughing with Konan. "What about? Wait… do you mean the talk about the novel? If you want that, I'll let Tsunade tell him. Also, you still need to return the third page!"

"Wait, that was only the third page?" Yahiko asked, slightly confused, before becoming serious again. "No, that's not it. Nagato is trying to cover it up, but he's actually pretty sad right now. You see, it was a Konoha shinobi that killed his parents."

Jiraiya paled. How had he overlooked this? It was such a simple thing, but could cause so many problems… "All right. I'll see what I can do."

"Also, Jiraiya…" Yahiko muttered, again tugging on his sleeve. "What if they don't like us? We're from Amegakure! The kids in the Academy might not accept us…"

"You'll do fine, kid! If they ever question you… tell them you were trained by the Legendary Toad Sage of Mount Myoboku, Jiraiya!" the white-haired man yelled, instinctively striking a pose, which caused him to draw the attention of Nagato and Konan. "Nagato, come over here! Yahiko, you go see what Konan's doing with that butterfly!" Yahiko nodded and smiled, and then switched places with Nagato as the Uzumaki walked over.

"Yes, sensei?" the redhead asked politely, looking up at Jiraiya, though his hair covered his eyes.

"Well, Nagato…" Jiraiya started, making sure Nagato knew this was serious, "Yahiko told me it was Konoha ninja that killed your parents, and I wanted to make sure you were okay with going there. That you wouldn't go into depression, or try to kill any of them."

Nagato stood still for a minute, not betraying any emotion. He took a shuddering breath after a minute, and whispered, "I won't become like them. I won't become a murderer, but…" Nagato looked up, tears barely held back, "They killed my parents, sensei, right in front of me!" Nagato broke down right there. All of the sadness he had to keep inside, the strong façade he had to put up when Yahiko and Konan were around, crumpled like paper. He fell forward and Jiraiya kneeled down to catch him, letting the boy cry into his shoulder.

_'This kid has been through so much… All of them have, but they're still fighting… Their pain hasn't taken them yet.' _Jiraiya awkwardly patted Nagato's back, not knowing exactly what to say, but trying his best to soothe the boy. "It's okay, Nagato… You're all right now… They won't harm you when I'm around, you'd better believe it!" Jiraiya laughed to himself. He had just quoted the main character from his book!

Konan and Yahiko had stopped playing, noticing what had happened, and were watching solemnly from a distance. After a moment, Konan walked towards them, followed closely by Yahiko.

Nagato noticed a small, light hand being placed on his shoulder, and looked up from Jiraiya's shoulder. Through his tear-blurred vision, he could make out Konan's encouraging half-smile, and he was able to see the deep sadness that coursed through her eyes.

'_Konan…' _he thought. The first person that was nice to him after his parents died. Orphans were a common thing in Amegakure, so no one sympathized with him. Nagato was walking the streets half-starved, when he had met her. He told her his story, and she had told him to follow her.

Nagato felt a hand on his other shoulder, and looked to his left to see Yahiko giving him a thumbs-up. _'Yahiko…' _

Nagato had first met Yahiko when he followed Konan. At first, Yahiko was reluctant about sharing their meager food with someone like him, but Konan convinced him to. Slowly, they became better and better friends, until one day, they were best friends.

'_No…' _Nagato thought, _'They're not just friends anymore.' _Nagato stood up from where he was kneeling, and Jiraiya got up as well. The redhead turned to his two friends, and embraced both of them in a hug. _'They're my family!' _

Konan and Yahiko were surprised at first; Nagato was never one for physical shows of affection, but they both smiled and returned the hug. Jiraiya smiled from behind them, and then looked up at the sky again. When he noticed the sun was setting, he waited for a few moments. When the trio showed no signs of stopping soon, he said, "I hate to break up the bonding time, but I want to get to Konoha tonight!"

The trio broke apart, and after looking at each other for a little bit, took off down the road quietly, each of their faces holding a shadow of delight. Jiraiya sighed but followed. He would never understand a child's emotions, they were so chaotic!

* * *

Due to Jiraiya's pushing, they group had made it to Konoha right as the sun set. As they walked through the gate, the guard called out, and the three orphans instantly jumped behind Jiraiya.

"Hey Jiraiya! It's been a while! Where've you been?" The guard wore standard Konoha shinobi gear, and had a permanent happy expression on his face. His short brown hair was spiked in the front, and he wore is forehead protector around his neck. He looked down at where Nagato's head was sticking out from behind Jiraiya, and he looked at the Toad Sage in confusion. "Who are these kids? I didn't know you were bringing back company, Tsunade said you had stayed to scope out Amegakure."

"Hello, Iriku, long time no see!" Jiraiya greeted, before turning serious. "These kids are under my protection for now, they're orphans exiled from Amegakure. I was morally obligated to take them because I was the reason they were exiled. Don't worry; I'll go talk to Hiruzen-sensei about it." Jiraiya waved goodbye and left, making sure his students followed close behind. When he turned off the main road, he addressed the group.

"Well, I'm not taking you to the Third quite yet. It's late, and I've fallen very behind in my research. So, I'm going to drop you off at a friend's house. I would've sent you there anyways; my apartment isn't nearly big enough for me, let alone with the three of you."

Konan looked at him with wide eyes. "You mean, you're leaving us with someone we don't know? Why? We can just stay with you… We can sleep outside! Please, Jiraiya-sensei… We don't know this village at all."

"I didn't say you didn't know them! In fact, you met her when you first met me! C'mon, I'll show you!" Jiraiya leapt onto the roof, and the orphans followed, a bit unsure.

* * *

"Now, don't make her mad! I'll see you later!" Jiraiya disappeared in a cloud of smoke, leaving the three orphans in front of a large wooden mansion. The exterior of the huge house wasn't much; it had an ornate door, two windows on each of the two floors, and a large, intimidating gate in the front. Jiraiya hadn't even opened the gate for them, and it was clearly locked by a sealing jutsu.

"Umm… How do we get by the gate?" Nagato asked, examining the gate. The two doors of the gate were sealed into one object, and from what Nagato knew about seals, it probably left a barrier around the entire house.

"It's easy! We climb it!" Yahiko ran towards the gate, jumping up and grabbing to of the black, cage-like bars. As soon as his hands touched them, Yahiko was thrown back in a shower of sparks. Konan and Nagato moved to help him, but he got up all right.

As soon as he looked up though, Yahiko saw Konan trying to stifle a giggle and Nagato suppressing a smile. He reached up to touch his hair, and was surprised to find it standing straight up, making him look hilarious. He quickly fixed his hair and yelled threateningly, "It's not funny! If you laugh, I'm gonna kick your butts!"

Konan giggled out loud and lifted her hand to point at Yahiko's hair. Reaching up, he felt one spike standing high above the rest. Each time he patted it down, it stood back up! As Yahiko struggled with his hair, Nagato and Konan planned out their method of infiltration.

"Jiraiya hasn't taught us much about seals, but I think this one might only stop humans… I'm not sure, but do you think you could send over a note?" Nagato asked.

Konan, who was sidetracked watching Yahiko, looked back at Nagato. "I'm sorry, what? A note? Sure thing!" Konan pulled a piece of paper from her pocket, and took a pen Nagato handed her. After she wrote the note, she folded it into a butterfly, and watched as it flew.

"The moment of truth…" Konan muttered. The butterfly crossed the barrier line, and kept going! They both breathed a sigh of relief, watching as the note went through the top right window, which was open and had a light on in the inside.

It took nearly twenty minutes before anything happened. Yahiko had finished fixing his hair, and soon joined the other two as they leaned against a tree right outside the mansion. Nagato and Konan dozed off; it was later than Jiraiya had usually let them stay up; while Yahiko stared intently at the door. As soon as it creaked open slightly, Yahiko was on his feet, jumping up and down.

"Hey guys! The door opened! Someone's coming out! Wake up!" Nagato and Konan blinked awake, and Yahiko stood watching a small figure wrapped in a while blanket come to the door, using some of the blanket as a hood so they couldn't see any facial features.

It took the figure a few minutes of slow shuffling to get to the gate. It pressed the middle of the gates and they opened, and the person walked out towards the orphans. It looked up, revealing sleepy brown eyes with circles under them, and wisps of blonde hair from under the blanket.

"What do you kids want?" she asked irritably.

Konan spoke up. "Jiraiya-sensei told us to stay with you tonight while he went researching. Aren't you Tsunade?"

"Jiraiya… sensei? Wait…" the bleary-eyed Tsunade looked Konan over, then smiled slightly. "You're the girl who gave me the origami crane back in Amegakure, right? And you guys are the other two?" she asked, looking at Yahiko and Nagato. Then she suddenly appeared annoyed. "So, Jiraiya dumped you all off here for you to stay with me, so he could do _research?" _

Konan nodded, smiling. "Yup! That's right!"

"That idiot! He didn't even say hi, and he goes off to do _research?! _Boy, when I get my hands on him…" she stopped as she noticed the kids staring up at her expectantly. "I can't believe he just left you here! I'm not usually one for sharing m house, but come on in."

"Yes!" Yahiko yelled and ran past the blonde woman, quickly entering the house before anyone could stop him.

"That kid had better not be messing anything up…" Tsunade grumbled as she walked after him, Konan and Yahiko following quietly behind, Nagato carrying Yahiko's pack as well as his own.

* * *

The inside of the house left the two who followed Tsunade in awe. Right as they walked in, they were greeted by a huge entry room with ornate art on the walls. A story above them hung a large chandelier, and there were two fancy staircases on the side walls, two side doors at the bottom of them.

Suddenly, a large crash was heard from the door on the left. Tsunade cursed and ran into the other room, again with Konan and Nagato following her. When they entered the room, the orphans realized it was a kitchen, judging by the numerous shelves and the oven in the back. At the bottom of one of those shelves was Yahiko, sitting amongst scattered pieces of kitchenwear. Yahiko was also holding something… a jar of some kind.

Konan realized what it was. It was the holder of something of a myth amongst Ame orphans…

"Is that… a cookie jar?" she asked in awe.

"Haha! Sure is!" Yahiko laughed. "But, finders keepers! This is all mine!"

"You sure about that, brat?" Tsunade ripped the jar from his hands, and put it on the highest shelf in the room. She then turned and glared at the boy. "If you would do that much for a cookie, you'll clean this mess up. Then you _might _be _allowed _to have a cookie. Now, I'm going back to sleep, and if you know what's good for you, you two will as well. The brat here will stay up until he's cleaned this up. Now, I need your names. Not saying I'll use them, but it will be nice to know."

"I'm Konan. I don't know my clan name…" Konan muttered, looking down sadly.

"I'm Yahiko! I'm going to be the leader of Amegakure someday!" Yahiko gave Tsunade a thumbs up from where he sat, but she just glared at him, then nodded at Nagato.

"My name is Nagato Uzumaki," he said, bowing. "It is a pleasure to meet you."

"Uzumaki, huh? I've heard we just had another Uzumaki join the Academy. Apparently she has a nasty temper."

Nagato seemed to be caught between happy and scared at the same time, but settled on indifference. "That is… interesting. Thank you for telling me. Now, where do we sleep?"

"I would say the guest rooms, but I don't have any beds in those right now… There are couches in the room to the right as soon as you walk in, use those for now. Depending on how permanent this is, I might get the guest rooms set up. Now, good night." Tsunde adjusted the blanket wrapped around her, and walked out of the room, turning left to go up the stairs. Nagato and Konan left to go to sleep themselves, leaving Yahiko alone. He sat waiting for a few minutes until all the noise stopped, then began carefully climbing the shelves.

'_I know how heavy the jar is now, so I won't fall! I will have a cookie!' _As he reached the top, Yahiko grabbed the jar with one hand and lifted it up. To his surprise, it was much lighter than it was when he originally picked it up. The momentum carried him back, and Yahiko hit the ground with a thud, wincing as he landed on one of the pots. The jar hit the ground beside him, and disappeared in a puff of smoke.

Tsunade smiled to herself as she heard the thud, munching on a cookie while lying in bed.

* * *

**Author's Notes: **The fabled cookie jar! I like the sound of that. Thanks for all the support, and please review if I did anything wrong (or right, just review if you feel the need!). As always, favorite and follow, and have a wonderful birthday!

Nayod


	3. School's in Session!

**Rainstorm Chapter 3**

***School's in Session***

You people make me happy =). For those who read the wiki like I did, yes, it says Kakashi and Nagato are the same age. No, that can't be true. Minato was trained after Nagato. It's a plot hole. Deal with it =). I'm only saying that because I made the same mistake. Damn wiki never being right… Anyways, thank for all of your support! This story is exploding compared to my first one, and it's thanks to you people! Nayod

* * *

"Yahiko…. Oh Yahiko…"

The boy's eyes twitched, then he settled back to sleep. The blonde woman stood over him, a sadistic smile on her face. Tsunade motioned to Nagato, who did as he was told before.

_'Sorry, Yahiko. She's… scary. I didn't want it to come to this! It's only because you slept in…' _Nagato reluctantly handed over the cold ramen, covering his eyes for what came next. It was their first day at the Academy… Only a week after they showed up at Tsunade's house. Tsunade had a heated discussion with Jiraiya, but it didn't get anywhere. Jiraiya left again, and they had only seen him twice that week. Nagato remembered one conversation he and his friends had two nights ago…

* * *

_*Flashback*_

"Jiraiya-sensei left us…" Nagato said with his knees pulled up to his chest. Konan and Yahiko looked at him with shock, before their own uncertainty surfaced. Tsunade was out with Dan that night, enjoying her month of leave from the War, so the three were relaxing around in Konan's room. It only took two days for Tsunade to get the guest rooms ready to use, and only a day later they spent most of their time there, excited to finally have a nice place to live. Right now, Konan was absentmindedly folding a piece of paper, which she crumpled when Nagato talked.

"He would never! We're his students… I mean, he visited us once already!" she yelled, though her voice was shaky.

Yahiko looked up from his drawing, which was of a burning house. Jiraiya never noticed because Yahiko was good at hiding them, but he drew these sad pictures to cope with the loss of his parents. At first Nagato thought it was odd, but whenever Yahiko drew, all of his sadness and anger was put into the drawing. "I wouldn't be so sure. He didn't even want to take us, remember? Besides, his plan was always to dump us here. He's probably trying to get rid of us."

As Yahiko spoke, his drawing became more rigid, and Nagato noticed a figure begin to form inside the burning house… Before the paper flew into the air and tore itself to shreds.

Konan was looking at him with cool eyes. "Jiraiya-sensei is the reason we're alive. No matter what he does now, he deserves our respect, even if it's reluctant."

"HE'S DITCHED US, KONAN! DON'T YOU GET IT?! HE DOESN'T WANT US ANYMORE! WE'RE A LIABILITY!" Yahiko stood and was towering over Konan, who crumpled under the usually happy child's outrage.

After a second, Konan got over the initial shock and retorted, "It's been five days, Yahiko. He's been out of the village training us for a long time… Maybe he just doesn't have the time…" Even with her cool eyes, she lifted her hand and wiped the lone tear off of her face.

Nagato stared in shock at what he was watching. Konan and Yahiko never fought. In fact, the three of them had never argued, ever. They both turned away from each other, leaving Nagato sitting on the bed. Nagato could see Yahiko's anger; it was almost palpable. He could also see Konan suppressing tears.

Suddenly, Nagato noticed something out of the corner of his eye… No, that wasn't how it worked. Since Nagato saved Yahiko back in Amegakure, he'd been noticing things. It felt like he was seeing them out of his peripheral vision, but he was seeing things that he shouldn't be able to see. Like right now, he had caught a glimpse of Tsunade coming home.

Quickly, Nagato slid off the bed, making sure his hit feet the floor as Tsunade opened the door, so Konan and Yahiko didn't hear her come in. Even though Nagato knew Konan didn't hear Tsunade come in, she seemed to stick to him as he left the room, leaving Yahiko seething alone.

Konan didn't say anything as she followed him, and Nagato could see why. She had just needed an excuse to leave the room without Yahiko snapping at her again. Nagato wanted to give her a respite from the argument, so he was silent as he went down the stairs, meeting Tsunade as she took her sandals off. As the blonde looked up, she smiled, but it dropped as she saw Nagato's stoic look and the half-dry tears on Konan's face.

"All right, fess up. What happened?" Tsunade said, putting her hands on her hips.

Nagato replied, trying to keep his voice even. "Yahiko and Konan got into an argument…"

Tsunade looked over him critically. "About?"

"Did Jiraiya-sensei just abandon us with you?" Konan asked from behind Nagato's frail body.

"Oh gosh…" Tsunade muttered, then yelled, "Yahiko! Get down here!"

It took a minute, but Yahiko finally trudged down the stairs, a brush soaked in red ink clenched in his fist. "Yeah? What?"

"Okay… Now, that you're here, I need to clarify something with you. Jiraiya is Hiruzen-sensei's best spy right now. Since he's obliged to some relaxation time, he's staying in the village. Right now, he's spending his days rifling through information and his nights drinking off the stress. He's swamped, not ditching you. He's part of this war, and so am I. When I go back into service, will you think I've ditched you, too?"

Nagato understood what she meant, and from what he could see, so did Konan. Yahiko seemed to be wrestling with himself, though. After a moment, he took a deep breath.

"Okay. I get where you're coming from, and I've acknowledged it. It wouldn't kill him to stop by our first day, would it?"

Tsunade considered. "I guess I could talk to him… but I have a gift for you, too. What do you guys want for breakfast your first day?"

The orphans' eyes widened. Tsunade never made them breakfast. She told them where everything was, and had them make breakfast for her _and _themselves. This was the opportunity of a lifetime!

Nagato saw a loophole, though. "Anything?"

"As long as I don't have to go to the ends of the earth to get it, sure!"

"Eggs," Nagato instantly said.

"What kind?" Tsunade asked.

"I don't care. As long as it's not hardboiled, I'm fine."

Yahiko went next. "I want those noodles you get from a cup! It's called… umm… Ramen! That's it! Ramen!"

"Disgusting, but okay. Konan?" Tsunade nodded at the girl.

However, Konan didn't respond at first. She seemed lost in thought, and then looked up with puppy-dog eyes. "Can I have a cookie, please? Maybe two? Or three? Three would be good."

_'Dang it!' _Nagato thought, _'Why didn't I think of that?!'_

Yahiko opened his mouth to speak, but Tsunade cut him off. "No changing. Also… I won't wake you up, and you can't wake each other up. If you're not up for breakfast, it will wake you up. You'll also need your lunches, so I guess I'll make those too… Just don't forget them. You don't want me bringing them in, trust me."

_*End Flashback*_

* * *

That was why Tsunade was holding a cup of cold ramen over Yahiko's face.

Konan was the first up; awake even before Tsunade, sitting politely at the table in the ten minutes it took Tsunade to wake up herself. Nagato quickly followed, having a natural alarm clock inside of him.

Konan had eaten her three cookies nibble by nibble; they were small, after all; while Nagato ate his food slowly, only to be polite. In truth, he loved scrambled eggs, fried eggs, whatever! He wasn't sure why… he vaguely remembers his mom made good scrambled eggs.

Tsunade had made Yahiko's ramen already, and left it at his spot in the table. She waited ten minutes, and then took Nagato and the ramen to Yahiko's room. She had invited Konan, but she was down to her last two cookies, and wasn't about to leave them lying there!

"Wakey wakey, brat!" Tsunade smashed the plastic cup into Yahiko's face, crushing it on him. Yahiko sputtered and spit, but by the time he was untangled from his sheets they had already left the room.

Yahiko trudged into the kitchen quietly, watching as Nagato avoided his gaze and Konan stared down the last crumb of cookie she had. He was just about to look through what he could make himself when…

"Oh, would you look at the time! You three have to go, pronto!" Tsunade said, herding them towards the door. "Bye! See you later! Good luck…"

The door slammed behind them, and the orphans stood in front of Tsunade's door, confused.

"What just happened?" Nagato asked, looking around.

"I'm not sure…" Yahiko replied.

Konan stood between them with a look of bliss on her face. "I went to heaven and back!"

"Stop bragging! It's not cool to remind us!" Yahiko yelled. Nagato began walking, knowing from where the sun was they didn't have much time. Tsunade had showed them the route to the Academy before, and he was confident he knew it. So, the three began their adventure… The first day of school.

* * *

Nagato stared at the building in front of him. It was a drab red building, like his hair but duller, and there were two doors that looked very intimidating right then.

"Well… I guess that… whoever gets to class last is a rotten egg!" Yahiko said, taking off, Konan and Nagato trailing behind him because of the surprise.

"No fair, Yahiko! You cheated!" Konan yelled, smiling to herself as she used a small scroll on the floor of the hallway to trip the orange-haired kid, who fell flat on his face. Konan lightly stepped over him, but the hesitation cost her. Nagato stepped right on Yahiko's back, using him as a speed boost, and quickly overtook the blue-haired girl. Yahiko grunted and slowly got up, but it was too late. Nagato entered the classroom first, followed by Konan. Yahiko was the rotten egg.

The class was bigger than the orphans expected. There was a blonde-haired kid near the back reading, who looked up to give a nod of acknowledgement, before returning to his story. There was a group of three students in the far corner of the classroom, paying no attention to the new kids. Other than that, the class's occupants were quite uninteresting.

At the front of the class, a brown-haired shinobi in the standard Konoha flak jacket and with a blue bandana over his head stopped speaking and looked at the newcomers. In front of him was a red-haired girl, who seemed nervous. He smiled and said, "Ah, they made it! Class, along with this girl, we have three other transfer students from Amegakure!"

Being put on the spot stunned all three of them; this wasn't in the description! It was Yahiko who recovered first. "Hey there! I'm Yahiko!"

Konan gained confidence after hearing her friend speak. "Hello. I am Konan, pleased to meet you."

"I'm… umm… Nagato Uzumaki," Nagato said awkwardly, staring at his shuffling feet, and getting a glance from the redheaded girl.

The instructor smiled again. "This is our transfer student from Uzushiogakure. It seems you have family here."

"My name is Kushina Uzumaki, believe it!" she yelled, bowing stiffly.

Nagato picked up a few whispers from the edge of the class.

"Wow, look at their red hair!"

"Is that even possible, that red?"

"What shade of red is that? It's unnatural!"

Yahiko growled. "If you guys want to talk trash about Nagato, you have to go through me, too! So shut your traps, all of you!"

The mutterings continued; it seemed Yahiko's threats made it worse. As Yahiko tried to pinpoint the people who were talking, Kushina yelled out.

"I'm going to be the first female Hokage!"

This caused the crowd to silence. A few stifled giggles were heard, but then the blonde kid stood up. "I also want to become Hokage; one that everyone can look up to and respect!"

On that awkward note, the four exchange students were sent to some seats in the back, Nagato and Kushina sitting next to each other. They learned about teamwork for about two hours before the instructor called for a break.

* * *

Yahiko grumbled to his friends. "This is so boring! Jiraiya-sensei taught us this already! Forget it, I'm going to go get some water." Yahiko got up to leave, and Konan went to the instructor to talk about the material; there was always more to learn! It was at that moment a group of kids descended on the two Uzumakis.

"Wow, your hair is so red…" one of the kids said. "Hey! The girl looks like a tomato!

"Her face is all fat and her hair is so red, she really does!" another kid commented.

"The boy's hair and face don't match each other at all. I mean, he's so pale but his hair is an ugly red!"

"From now on, the girl's name is Tomato!"

"Yeah! She's Tomato one and he's Tomato two!"

The boys began pulling at Kushina and Nagato's hair. Nagato was just taking it, not sure why they were hurting him. Kushina suddenly lunged at the boy, dropping him to the ground and punching him while Nagato stood, trying to process why those things had been said to him.

"Don't talk about me like that!" Kushina said, stopping her fist so the boy could respond. She was confused when he was just staring over her shoulder, instead staring at Nagato.

"What's up with that kid's eyes…?" he muttered through broken teeth.

Kushina looked up and saw what he did. Nagato had worn his hair particularly low that day, so no one had seen his eyes. When she saw his odd purple eyes, she stood shocked for a moment, before taking the bully by the collar.

"What do his eyes have to do with anything?! They're fine! Get over it!"

Meanwhile, the other boys had forcibly pulled Nagato's hair out of the way so they could see, and all just stared before their homework assignments flew up around them, swirling and coming closer.

"Let go of my friend," Konan demanded. The instructor came with her and pulled Kushina off the boy she was throttling, placing them on separate sides of him.

A small chuckle was heard at the side of the room; the blonde boy was laughing at what happened.

"What are you laughing at!?" Kushina yelled. The boy immediately stiffened and looked away, like he was scared.

Konan came up beside Nagato and put her arm around him. Nagato shook slightly; he had endured worse, why was he shaking over this?

"Why… why did they do that?" Nagato asked, his voice shaky. He had been abused by shopkeepers, attacked by ninja; why was this different?!

"Because," Kushina replied, "you aren't fighting back. You're an easy target because of your hair and eyes. You just need to show them you aren't a wimp."

The moment was ruined when Yahiko slammed the door open, complete panic on his face. "I LEFT MY LUNCH AT TSUNADE'S!"

* * *

**Author's notes: **Oh man, are you lucky! There was a storm that shut off my power, but it came online long enough for me to write this! The perfect blend of sadness and comedy! Oh yeah, I reached 10 followers! Yay! Also, question, would Choza, Shikaku, and Inoichi be their age? Just wondering. The less OCs, the more manageable it is. Thanks, and as always, review, favorite, and follow!


	4. Rising Storm

**Rainstorm Chapter 4**

***Rising Storm***

Ugh… I got a cold. The most annoying sickness, whatever you guys think. But anyways, hey guys! How's life? Good? Cool. I have a small surprise for you people… Last chapter was the perfect position for a slight skip, right? Well, this is continuing from that point. Ha. Anyways, as always, review, favorite and follow! (Reviews preferred)

* * *

The entire class stared at Yahiko. With the fear in his eyes, people could tell he was scared. No one noticed the similar looks of fear in Konan and Nagato's eyes.

"Oh crap… I forgot my lunch, too," Konan whispered to Nagato. "Tsunade kicked us out of the house before we could get it…"

Nagato, who still seemed traumatized from what happened earlier was slightly annoyed with his friends. _'I get Yahiko… he didn't see what happened, but Konan too? She didn't even ask if I was okay…' _Nagato's annoyance seemed to be more noticeable than he thought; Kushina came up and put a hand on his shoulder.

"You didn't forget your lunch, did you?" she said with a friendly smile.

Nagato smiled slightly. "Nope. My scatterbrained friends did though. I don't want to be around when Tsunade gets here. Lunch is in an hour, right?"

"I was about to ask you the same thing! I'm starving! Hey cousin, want to sneak out during lunch? When I first got here, they took me to this awesome ramen place that just opened!" Kushina practically whispered the last part, a mischievous grin on her face.

Nagato put a hand behind his head, laughing nervously. "Well,-"

"Deep thought for a shallow mind!" Kushina interrupted. "Okay, continue."

Nagato stuttered momentarily, but regained his train of thought. "I don't have any money."

"Oh…" Kushina muttered, "Well,-"

Nagato saw his chance and interrupted, "Deep thought for a shallow mind, cousin," he said quietly.

Nagato instinctively backed away when Kushina loomed over him, red hair flying behind her. "What did you say?" she asked menacingly.

"Nothing!" he corrected himself.

"That's better. What I was going to say, is that plan is screwed. I was planning on using your money!"

Nagato sweatdropped. She was mooching off of him? He shrugged to himself. "Oh well. Class is starting, we should sit down." Together they sat in their old spots, followed by a very nervous looking Konan and Yahiko.

An hour later, something unforgettable happened. Right as the instructor dismissed them for lunch, the door was kicked open, and a familiar blonde woman walked through the door…

"Hi kids!" Tsunade yelled, drawing out the 'kids' in a singsong, obnoxious-motherly voice. "You forgot your luuuunches!" she sang, strutting over to Yahiko and Konan, whose faces were already beet red.

Luckily, Nagato knew enough about how Tsunade acted to get him and Kushina away from the targets in time. Tsunade ruffled Konan and Yahiko's hair, and began the real embarrassment.

"Everyone says breakfast is the most important meal, but I know better! You need your midday sustenance! So, Konan, if you want to be a fit woman, you need your vegetables! So, in your lunch I packed a raw salad, without dressing, just how you like it!" That was a lie. Konan hated vegetables in general. "I was looking through what I packed you earlier, but I was astonished! I had packed you a cookie! What was I thinking!" Konan's already depressed demeanor took the form of absolute despair, and she let her head fall to her desk, a near invisible tear falling from her face.

"Yahiko, I'm surprised at you! You thought you could fool me? I saw what you did! You replaced my healthy meal with _ramen! RAMEN! _Did you think I was so foolish that you could get by with that? NO! So, instead of that, you get tofu! It's nutritious, you know? You'll love it!"

After dropping two _pink _bento boxes in front of the embarrassed children, she left quickly, leaving a red Yahiko and a sniveling Konan in her wake. Once outside the classroom, Tsunade laughed and walked up to Dan. The man tried to keep himself from laughing, but let a small giggle escape.

"Oh, Dan, that was great! I would have never thought of that!" Tsunade said between laughs.

"Oh no, my dear, the acting was superb! I couldn't have pulled it off without you!"

Together, the couple left the Academy hand in hand.

* * *

Meanwhile, the classroom was quiet, until someone laughed. Then another. And another. Suddenly, the whole class was laughing at the two orphans' expense. This is where Nagato and Kushina came in. Kushina came by and helped Konan, while Nagato took Yahiko, and they escorted them outside.

"I never knew… she could be so cruel," Konan muttered, face completely blank, before contorting into grief. "SHE DEPRIVED ME OF A COOKIE! DO YOU KNOW HOW BAD THAT IS?!"

"Are you kidding, Konan? Now we're the laughing stock of the class!" Both Kushina and Nagato winced at this, unbeknownst to Yahiko. "They're gonna pick on us all year!"

Kushina led them to a tree with a swing on it, farther away from the other kids. Nagato sat on the swing, while Kushina and Yahiko both claimed a tree branch, and Konan sat on the ground against the tree. The lunch-forgetters took forced bite after forced bite of their 'healthy' lunches.

Nagato opened his lunch to find a letter, along with some interesting food items. It was a small note, reading:

_Dear Nagato,_

_ I know you're probably going to be the only one who remembers their lunch, so you can decide what you do with these! If you eat them, make sure it's in front of Konan and Yahiko!_

_ Tsunade._

Inside was a cookie and a cup of ramen. There were other food items, of course, but Nagato suddenly had an evil idea.

"Hey Kushina? Catch!" Nagato slowly tossed the ramen cup to the girl, who caught it with glee and thanked him. He took the cookie for himself, and right as he was about to take a bite, he felt something sharp against his neck.

Konan looked down at him, a piece of paper right next to his neck and multiple paper shuriken ready. "Don't. Eat. My. Cookie."

Nagato smirked, knowing she wouldn't actually hurt him, and then popped the entire cookie into his mouth. Konan was right. Cookies were great! Unfortunately, one cookie came at a great price… Nagato's lunch box fell to the ground in pieces, his other food going everywhere, and numerous paper shuriken lodged in the ground.

"Hey! Konan, that wasn't nice!" Nagato whined.

"Yeah, well get over it. You started it."

"The cookie was in my lunch! It's wasn't yours!"

"You fight over the pettiest things…" Kushina moaned, and then gasped as Yahiko made his move, swiping her cup of ramen. Kushina sat gaping for a moment, and then jumped on Yahiko, tackling him off the tree, and landing on Nagato's leg, who winced in pain. She brought her face mere inches from Yahiko's. "That wasn't a very good idea, Yahiko," she hissed, "I'll give you three seconds to rethink your decision. "

Yahiko returned her glare with stubborn eyes. "Oh yeah? I don't need three seconds to know this ramen is mine!"

"Wrong answer!" Kushina yelled and brought her fist down, only to have it caught by someone else.

"It seems everyone but the other redhead is itching for a fight," the newcomer girl said. She was about their height, with rough brown hair and two red tattoos under her eyes. She wore a light grey coat with the hood down, and long dark grey pants. "I'm all for a good fight myself, but save it for sparring. That happens at the end of the week; wouldn't want you all beat up before then."

Kushina and Yahiko glared at each other for a few more seconds, and then Kushina got off of him and walked away with her arms folded. No one noticed the cup of ramen she had hidden between her arms…

"Excuse me, who are you?" Konan asked as she helped Yahiko to his feet. Apparently, being tackled from a tree could hurt even Yahiko. Nagato

"Tsume Inuzuka's the name. I would introduce you to my partner, but he's gone and got himself sick…" she said, then smirked at them, showing a large pair of canines. "Oh well. You still have a few days; he'll be better by then. Now, tell me about yourselves. I love a good story."

Kushina seemed to judge the girl momentarily. "Okay. I'll tell you what I know, and it isn't much. My family sent me here on my own, I'm supposed to meet this old lady named Mito in a few weeks. That's all I got," she finished, shrugging.

"Interesting… What about you three? You smell strong…" Tsume said with her eyes glinting dangerously.

"What do you mean, smell?" Konan asked, seemingly over the cookie incident.

"It's for Inuzuka clan members to know and you not to. Now, stories. Speak," she commanded.

"We're all orphans from Amegakure. What else is there to know?" Yahiko stared at the girl with suspicion.

"Well, for one, tell me why you smell like frogs and blood."

The three orphans straightened. Nagato suddenly found the ground very appealing, a thought that was seconded by Konan, and Yahiko looked away with a scowl.

"Amegakure isn't the nicest place," Nagato muttered.

"Yeah, I figured that much. Now, the frog smell?" the Inuzuka just kept asking questions, disregarding their apprehension.

"That's probably from Jiraiya-sensei," Konan replied, "He helped us learn to fend for ourselves… then Hanzo found us."

"Ah. Interesting… I didn't think the town pervert trained you guys. I thought he was just on another research mission. Given, it did last longer than one of _those _trips," Tsume muttered.

Konan looked at the girl with confusion. "What do you mean by 'one of _those _trips?'"

"You know, when he-" Tsume stopped talking when she noticed Nagato and Yahiko, who were both making 'shut up' signs from behind Konan. She smirked and gave a slight nod, before continuing, "goes and studies wildlife! I always thought they were stupid trips…"

There was the sound of a bell ringing, and Tsume perked up. "Aww… class starts already? That's too bad. I'll see you guys after school; I have a different teacher than you. You are so unlucky… the class you got is horrible! They're all idiots who probably won't even make shinobi… Well, that Minato kid might, if he stops wussing out." Tsume turned and jogged back to the school building and disappeared from sight.

"So, we got the bad class…" Kushina said under her breath, "Yay…"

"Oh well," Nagato said to her, "Guess it can't be helped. We'll just have to deal with it."

* * *

And deal with it they did. As soon as they got into class, they were divided into groups of four to plan mock strategies.. None of them were on the same team, leaving Kushina and Nagato to deal with the torment by themselves.

"Hey, Tomato 2, Ryuu said you had demon eyes! Let me see them!"

Nagato shook his head and replied politely. "No, I'm sorry. My eyes aren't demon eyes. They're just eyes."

"Kid, I said let me see them!" the tormentor threatened, backed up by the nods of the other two.

"I'd rather you didn't…" Nagato muttered, trying to defuse whatever kind of situation this was.

"Yeah? Well I'd rather you did, Tomato! Let me see them!" the boy reached for Nagato's hair, trying to pull it out of the way, but Nagato moved back to dodge him.

"Can't we just work on the project?" Nagato asked, dodging another grab.

"Not until I see your eyes, demon! Hold him still, guys!" The other two members moved forward to hold Nagato still, but didn't need to. Nagato just stood in shock.

_'Demon? My _eyes _make me a demon? There isn't anything wrong with my eyes! They're just different!' _Nagato thought, anxious and angry and scared at the same time. The lead boy grabbed Nagato's hair forcefully, and pulled it aside roughly, making Nagato wince and close his eyes.

"Open your eyes, Tomato 2! C'mon! We just want to see the demon eyes!" The boy pulled Nagato's hair more, making his thought process go elsewhere. _'How is the instructor not seeing this? This is a small room! It can't be that hard to see!'_

"Let go of me…" Nagato muttered, his eyes still forced closed from the pain.

"Let me see your eyes, first!" the boy replied, pulling harder.

"Stop it…" Nagato said, on the verge of tears.

"Just show me the eyes, demon boy!"

Something snapped in Nagato at the word 'demon.' His fear turned into anger, and he did as he was told. He opened his eyes.

There was something that sounded like a sonic boom, and a sphere of wind formed around Nagato for a split second. The three boys were thrown off of him, each hitting a separate wall, the leader taking a piece of Nagato's red hair with him. Nagato stood in the center of a small, perfectly rounded crater, panting. A small streak of blood dripped down from his scalp where his hair was torn off, and his left eye was visible. At first Nagato looked slightly scared, but his resolve hardened as the boys slid down their respective wall, slumped in unconsciousness.

Then he noticed the entire class staring at him. Suddenly he felt a lot weaker, and couldn't catch himself as he began falling down. Before he hit the ground, however, he saw a flash of yellow hair, and was being softly supported by the blonde he had noticed earlier. As Nagato looked behind himself, he was there was already a paper stretcher behind him, so he would've been caught by Konan otherwise. Yahiko was hallway across the room by the time the blonde caught him, and Kushina was close behind him.

The blonde looked into Nagato's purple eyes with his blue eyes and smiled. "That would've been a nasty spill. Are you okay, friend?" the blonde's eyes suddenly widened as if he remembered something. "Oh, right, we haven't met. I'm Minato Namikaze, and I will be the next Hokage, one that everyone will respect." Minato then put Nagato down on Konan's stretcher, and Yahiko and Kushina made it to him.

"Oh man, Nagato that was awesome! You need to show me how to do that!" Yahiko said enthusiastically.

Kushina was a bit more caring, but not by much. "That was pretty cool, I must admit. You seem tired, though. You should rest."

Konan came up to him as well. "Nagato, are you okay!? That was a crazy jutsu, are you hurt?! This is only the first day of school and you're already hurting yourself…"

Nagato smiled slightly, but even that small effort took more out of him. In fact, the room was darkening… Why was he so tired all of a sudden? It didn't matter… Nagato fell into unconsciousness with a smile on his face.

* * *

**Author's Notes: **So, how'd I do? I think this chapter went well. If there's anything you see, feel free to tell me! I must know what I do wrong! Anyways- ACHOO!- I'm gonna go sleep now. As always, review, favorite and follow!

Nayod


	5. Friends

**Rainstorm Chapter 5**

***Friends***

I just realized something. I'm forgetting disclaimers again. -.- Oh well. I'll live once I fix it. Anyways, thanks for the support! I'm slightly better, but it's only been 2 days since last chapter, so…. Yeah. *cough* Anyways, as always, review, favorite and follow! Thanks,

Nayod.

**Disclaimer: I don't own Naruto. I'm not that awesome. Don't get me wrong, I'm still pretty awesome.**

* * *

Nagato slowly felt consciousness returning, but immediately wish he hadn't. His head _hurt! _It didn't help that he could barely move; his entire body felt like he had run into a wall full speed! That wasn't even the worst part; when he was finally able to open his eyes, his body jerked in reaction to the pain that racked his body.

"Ugh…"

Nagato could barely focus on the words being said right next to him, and he was pretty sure it was Konan. "Hey! Tsunade, he's awake, but he looks really hurt!"

"It's alright, I can handle it," Tsunade's voice replied, "Go get Yahiko and those other two, tell them he's up."

Nagato heard the little patter of steps as Konan left the room, and Tsunade's deliberate steps towards him. He felt a cold hand on his forehead.

"Hey, kid. Welcome back to the world of the living," Tsunade whispered to him.

"It… hurts. Badly…" Nagato tried to reply, but he could only croak the answer out.

'Well, you did suffer from severe chakra depletion. It took all of my skill just to keep you alive, so you'd better be grateful. Now… I need to see your eyes," Tsunade said.

"It hurts too bad…" Nagato muttered, wincing as he tried to open them but failed.

"Just for future reference, your eyes are what you used to attack. I just thought you would want to know that. No, I'm not sure how," she corrected herself quickly. "Now open them."

Toughing out the pain, Nagato opened his eyes slightly, releasing a small cry of pain as he did so. He kept them open momentarily, and after noticing he could see Tsunade looking down at him normally, he closed them again with a gasp.

"Well, it seems you're okay. Nothing has changed," Tsunade stopped and listened for a few seconds. "You'll have visitors soon. Are you up to it, kid?"

"I'll… be fine."

"Don't say I didn't warn you," Tsunade said sneakily, before leaving the room. As soon as the door opened, Nagato heard two people nearly run over Tsunade, while two more walked behind them.

"Nagato, you didn't tell me you could do that! That was badass!" Yahiko yelled, practically jumping on Nagato as he leaped onto the foot of the bed.

"Oh my gosh, that was so cool! You really took those jerks down!" Kushina held her face close to his, her excitement nearly palpable.

The two behind them were a bit more discreet. Konan stood behind Kushina, smiling slightly. "I'm glad you're alright, Nagato. Remember, you can always just call for us. No need to beat the bullies that badly!"

_'I heard a fourth person… If only my eyes didn't hurt so bad…' _Nagato thought. After steeling himself, he opened his eyes a fraction. After he got over the shock of Kushina's blue eyes so close to him, Nagato looked to his left, and spotted a spike of blonde hair behind Konan. Minato moved his head so he was looking over her shoulder at Nagato and then he smiled and waved, as if he wasn't sure what to say. Nagato had a sneaking suspicion he was looking more at Kushina than him, but he couldn't be sure because it was right then he had to close his eyes.

"Oh yeah!" Kushina shouted, getting off of him. "We got you some things! Mine first!"

Kushina reached into a bag Nagato hadn't noticed her carrying, and pulled out a scroll before placing it on Nagato's bedside table.

"What is it?" Nagato asked, having not seen it.

"It's a scroll, silly!" Kushina replied with a smile so bright Nagato could see it through his eyelids.

"What kind of scroll?"

"Umm…" Kushina put her finger to her chin, thinking. "Oh yeah! It's how you make a storage seal! Pretty neat, huh? My parents sent it with me, but I already know it. I don't have enough control to make one right now, but I will when I get older!"

"Interesting…" Nagato muttered. He had never tried fuinjutsu, but then again, Jiraiya only taught them practical survival jutsu; this was pretty luxurious.

"I guess I'll go next…" Konan said, making her way past Kushina to Nagato's bedside. She pulled a paper butterfly from out of her sleeve, and place it in Nagato's hand. "I've made this butterfly so if you touch it in the center, it'll come back to me and tell me you're in trouble. Make sure you remember to use it!"

"Thanks, Konan."

"Oh! Oh! Me next! Me next!" Yahiko jumped off the bed and tripped as he landed on the floor wrong. "Oww…" Yahiko pushed himself up, rubbing his now-bruised forehead, before straightening and his energy returning. He reached into his pocket and pulled something out.

"Nagato, you might want to open your eyes for this," Konan said giddily.

After a few deep, painful breaths, Nagato opened his eyes slightly. After seeing what Yahiko held in his hand, his eyes shot completely open. Ignoring the pain, Nagato stared at the small, shining piece of metal in Yahiko's hand.

"This is…?"

"Yup! Konan and I pooled together enough money to get you a new clasp for your mom's necklace! We were planning on giving you it on your birthday, but… Now just seemed like a better occasion." Yahiko handed Nagato the silver clasp. The redhead held it gingerly, like it was a gift from an angel.

"You guys… This is real silver! Where'd you get the money?" Nagato asked, shocked. There wasn't even any money to scavenge in Amegakure, and they had only been in Konoha for just over a week!

"Tsunade said if we were able to save half of the money, she would pay the other half! Between you and me, people in Konoha drop a lot more money than those in Amegakure!" Yahiko leaned in closer and whispered the last half into Nagato's ear.

Nagato grew up in a place where you had to steal, so this information didn't bother him at all. He reached into his pocket and pulled out a necklace. It was plain at first sight, but it had a beauty that grew on people. I had a simple silver chain, and a small amulet with a light purple gem set into it. The clasp was noticeably bent; a result of Nagato dropping it one day when the orphans were running away from a vendor. Luckily, it had still been there when they had gone back for it, but someone had stepped on the clasp.

Though Nagato had never replaced it before, he did have to put the clasp back on one day when someone tried to steal it by ripping it off his neck. By Konoha's standards, it was cheap, so the clasp popped right off. Yahiko had been fast enough to tackle the thief, so he didn't make off with the rest of the necklace.

Slowly, he took off the damaged piece, and replaced it with the new clasp. After doing so, Nagato slipped the necklace on, wearing it like he used to.

"Thanks, you guys," Nagato said contently, closing his eyes and leaning back in the bed.

"It wasn't a problem!" Yahiko said, giving a thumbs-up.

"Yeah, Nagato. We were just doing what any friend would do," Konan reaffirmed.

Kushina looked on happily, before she noticed something…

"Minato? Don't you have a present?"

The blonde boy straightened and met the redheaded girl's threatening gaze. "Umm… me? I- uh- don't know him very well so… umm… I didn't get him anything."

Kushina smiled evilly. "So then, why are you here?"

"I… umm… followed you. Guys! I followed you guys!" he corrected, before turning and dashing out the door, face red with embarrassment.

"He's a bit strange, don't you think?" Konan commented, before the group once again engaged in small talk, talking for well over an hour.

* * *

Once Kushina had left for dinner, Tsunade called the orphans downstairs. Knowing dinner was always ready at the same time, and that that time wasn't for another hour, the orphans were confused about what it might be. Konan led the way, followed by Yahiko, who was supporting Nagato. However, as they went down the stairs, they heard a familiar laugh…

"Jiraiya-sensei!" Konan yelled, jumping the rest of the stairs and turning into the kitchen, seeing her old sensei talking at Tsunade. Tsunade didn't seem to be listening; she seemed more interested in his attire. Currently, Jiraiya was wearing an outfit that was very familiar to them… his frog costume! Jiraiya's big green head was turned away from Konan, so she didn't see the blush that signified drunkenness. Before the other two could reach the turn, Konan stopped them, bringing them closer so she could whisper to them. Breaking apart, they all nodded, and went back up the stairs.

"Brats! I told you to get down here!" Tsunade yelled. She just wanted someone else who Jiraiya would talk to… Not her, at least. When the Sage is drunk, he becomes more than a Super Pervert. She wasn't even sure why he was wearing his stupid frog suit… He had just shown up in it. Right now, he was trying to get her to play strip poker with him… She had done that before. Never again.

"Sorry Tsunade!" The three orphans appeared in the doorway, and Tsunade's jaw dropped. They were all wearing a frog costume. What had Jiraiya done to these kids?!

"Hey, kids! It's been a long time, right? Haha! Just look at you! Nagato, I heard you beat up some jerk today? Good job!" Jiraiya swayed on the stool he was on, then hiccupped. "Konan, my girl! That costume doesn't work on you yet… Maybe you should wait until you mature? Ah, if you did that, it would be perfect for my next novel!"

Konan shuddered, vaguely remembering the night she got to read a page of his novel… Luckily, she was saved from further embarrassment when Tsunade punched Jiraiya over the head. The giant frog head took most of the blow, but it still sent Jiraiya face first into the ground.

"Hey, Princess, you didn't need to do that," he muttered, getting up. Locking eyes with Yahiko, the drunk grinned as if nothing happened. "Hey, Yahiko! You should come on a research trip with me sometime! It'd be fun! I heard there's this good hot spring-"

"No thanks, sensei!" Yahiko said with disgust. _'I need to talk to him about that when the others aren't around… That might be fun!'_

"As you can see, kids, Jiraiya is pretty drunk right now. He said he would come see you, but…" Tsunade tried to explain, but she was stunned into silence when Jiraiya made a grab for her breasts. Another punch later, Jiraiya was out cold on the floor, and Tsunade was glaring at the dressed up children. "Why the hell are you brats wearing those ridiculous costumes?!"

"Jiraiya-sensei said whenever we see him wearing a frog costume, we have to wear them, too!" Konan said, in a tone that implied that was all she needed to say.

"Ugh… go take them off. Get some normal clothes on. Don't worry, Jiraiya will be here tonight. I'd much rather carry him to the couch then to his house. Konan, make sure Nagato is in his bed, then you can come back down. He still needs to sleep off the effects more. Yahiko, when you're done, come back down here and help me move Jiraiya."

The kids all ran off, and Yahiko came back, wearing and green T-shirt and boxer shorts. Tsunade looked him up and down, and then smirked in disgust.

"I know you wear boxers to bed, but that doesn't mean you can run around in them in front of a lady! First, help me move this pervert, then if you want to stay up longer, put some pants on and come back down!"

* * *

The next day, once everyone was sure Nagato could walk easily, the three went back to school. At first, Nagato took some convincing, and after hearing the full story from Nagato, Tsunade took even more convincing to not go into the school and bash some skulls.

Finally, the balance ended in the middle: Nagato went back to school so Tsunade wouldn't.

When they first walked into the class, every student was eyeing Nagato wearily, but after a few Konan death glares, they stopped staring. Yahiko, Konan, and Nagato moved to the back of the class where Kushina was and sat next to her.

The Uzumaki girl leaned over to Nagato and whispered, "Oh man, you scared them good! Look over there, in the floor!" Kushina pointed across the boy, who followed her finger to a badly patched hole in the floorboards, then to newly painted sections of wall. "I heard some of the kids talking, and I don't think they'll be picking on you for a while now! Maybe, not so much me, but you'll be fine!"

"What do you mean? You'll be fine, too! I won't let them hurt my cousin," Nagato reassured her, smiling.

"Oh, don't worry about me! I'll be fine. Besides, I can always hang out with you three and that Minato kid. There's also the really nice girl… I think she's an Uchiha, not sure, though. Even if we get picked on, it's only one more year before the genin exam!"

One more year it was. From that day on, no one tried to pick on Nagato. Well, except for one unlucky kid… Kushina was with him that day, so it didn't go over well.

* * *

**Author's Notes: **And… Insert mini-time skip here. Poor little Minato… getting caught stalking, of all things! Oh well. How'd you like the weekend double update? Pretty neat, huh? Please review if I did anything wrong! Or right! Actually, review because you can! Favorites and follow are good, too. Thanks!

Nayod.


	6. Genin

**Rainstorm Chapter 6**

***Genin***

Before you guys get pissed for me not updating at my normal speed,

1. I update fast, anyways.

2. My keyboard finally broke.

Yup. Stopped working completely. It was quite fun. So, I'm back with another Rainstorm chapter. Yeah… that's it, really. Can someone tell me why there are so many time travel and Akatsuki cat stories being written right now? I don't understand them =/

**Disclaimer (that I remembered the first time): **I don't own Naruto. If I did, I don't know or care what I would have done to it.

* * *

Nagato sat in his desk, next to Konan and Yahiko, as usual. He watched the door eagerly, waiting for the instructor to arrive. Of course, Nagato didn't know his name by heart yet. Yahiko and Kushina did a good job of having the instructors replaced almost biweekly; apparently, he was too annoying, and she was too stubborn, even for teachers. But, enough about the instructors; it was graduation day!

Yes, the Ame orphans had been attending the Academy for an entire year. They had a little mix-up, as in forgetting to get up, after Tsunade and Jiraiya went back to the front lines. In fact, the Sannin had been gone for almost half a year, leaving them to fend for themselves. Nagato was in a happy mood today, and the instructor was beyond late, so he slipped into his daydreams, remembering a day a few months ago, just after Tsunade left.

* * *

_*Flashback*_

"Hey, hey Nagato!" Nagato winced as Yahiko poked him in the gut to wake him up. After the novel-reading incident when the three orphans were heading to Konoha, Yahiko's midnight antics were something to be scared of. Nagato brushed the sleep out of his eyes and looked up at the orange-haired kid, noting in some fear that Konan wasn't with him. That was never a good sign.

"What?" Nagato asked irritably, sitting up.

"I found this fancy locked cabinet in Tsunade's room and I was wondering if you could open it," Yahiko explained, never having his fake-innocence expression falter.

"And you expect me to be able to?"

"It's one of those turny locks. You're good at opening those, I've seen you do it!"

This didn't go over well with Nagato. No one was supposed to know he was a good lock picker… Besides, he only did it for fun! "If you promise not to tell Tsunade I can do it, I will. Got it? Also, don't wake up Konan, she'll tell on us."

"Don't worry," Yahiko said, waving him off. "Now, follow me!"

Yahiko started running out of the room, before tripping and falling on the wooden floor, making a loud crashing noise. Nagato stiffened as he took the sheets off of himself, listening intently for noise from down the hall, where Konan slept.

There was another problem. Konan was between them and Tsunade's room. If she woke up now, they were screwed.

Yahiko lay where he was for a while, before groaning (loudly) and starting to get up. Nagato knew by his way of moving he wasn't trying to be quiet, just trying to move, no matter the sound. Using his ninja skills (learned from Jiraiya. The Academy was only on _basic _taijutsu.), Nagato silently jumped on Yahiko and putting his pillow over his head to smother any protests. Luckily, Yahiko got the idea quickly and stood completely still. Nagato removed the pillow and listened some more, confirming no movement from Konan's room.

"Hey, Nagato? Get off of me," Yahiko whispered, still on all fours.

Nagato noticed he still had his knees dug into Yahiko's back, muttered an apology and got off. After Yahiko cracked his back, the two slowly made their way past Konan's room. They both froze as Konan rolled over in her bed, but continued when it was nothing but a false alarm. Yahiko creaked open Tsunade's door at the end of the hall, and moved as Nagato tip-toed in.

Tsunade's room looked like it once was lavish, but was replaced by simple furniture. There was a simple bed with a bedside table, and lamp, and a giant carpet of a tree on the floor. Nagato followed as Yahiko led the way, to the seemingly empty left corner. Nagato thought it was just a prank Yahiko was pulling on him, before he pointed out a stub sticking out of the wall. Looking closer, Nagato saw numbers around it.

"Okay. Give me a minute." Nagato leaned his head up against the wall, listening to the tumblers click…

"Got it!" Nagato exclaimed quietly, pulling open the hidden safe.

Yahiko looked on disappointed. "It's just sake," he said, leaning in to inspect the bottles in the safe. "What am I supposed to do with this? I can't drink yet."

"Oh well," Nagato muttered, "Guess not everything is important, even if it's locked away. I'm going back to bed."

"Yeah, me too," Yahiko agreed, but Nagato didn't see that the safe was lacking a bottle of sake before it closed…

Needless to say, when Konan was woken up only an hour later as Yahiko stumbled into her room, wearing only his boxers and yelling things he didn't know the meaning to, but had heard Jiraiya say when he was drunk, Nagato was in some big trouble for "assisting the idiot," as Konan so nicely put it after Yahiko was mummified on the floor.

Nagato stood the verbal barrage for a while, until suddenly Yahiko began screaming though the paper he was trapped in. Konan paused, roughly making out a few obscenities, before making the wad of papers float into the air and flip, making Yahiko's head face downwards.

"Just go to sleep, Yahiko. You're drunk." The mummified kid hit the ground with such force that Nagato winced and turned away. Oddly, Yahiko's noises stopped.

_*End Flashback*_

* * *

Nagato was snapped out of his thoughts when the door opened slowly, and the Third Hokage himself walked in! In his white and red robes, the man looked surprisingly formal, since Nagato's only other time seeing him was when he was arguing with Tsunade about something about medical ninja. Apparently, Konan had seen Tsunade not too long ago, but since no one could find her after that, he assumed it was just the girl's imagination.

Of course, the trio had passed the graduation test with practiced ease; Jiraiya had taught them everything they needed to know for it in a week! No, the real problem was waiting for teams. Next to him, Yahiko was nearly jumping out of his seat, and Konan's leg was shaking with anticipation.

"First of all, I'd like to congratulate you all on graduating. It took lots of work to get where you are now, and I believe you've earned the hitai-ate that you have been given. As is my duty as Hokage, I will now assign you teams. Please note that, since we've had an abundance of graduates this year, you will be teamed with the other class, that has also graduated." The Third Hokage pulled out a list and began listing off names. Kushina was placed with a girl named Mikoto and another guy, Fugaku Uchiha? Nagato had heard his name occasionally; he was from the other class. A run of the mill, stuck up Uchiha.

Nagato was barely listening as Sarutobi listed off Minato's team, until he heard something that sparked his interest, and his temper.

"- your jonin instructor will be Jiraiya."

"Hold up! Jiraiya's our sensei!" Yahiko jumped out of his seat, hitting the table in front of him. Nagato couldn't blame him; he wanted to as well. Konan had taken on an odd, emotionless expression that Nagato had only seen when she was beyond angry.

"I apologize, Yahiko, but Jiraiya is best suited for this team. I will speak to you after this, if you want to argue it. Now, please, be quiet."

Yahiko grumbled to himself as he sat down.

The team announcements continued, but by the end, the orphans hadn't gotten their team yet. As other kids were retrieved by their sensei, the three were left sitting. Oddly enough, the only Sannin that showed up was Orochimaru, and he had merely come to speak to the Third. Judging by the look on Sarutobi's face, something bad had happened. The Hokage called out to Minato and his team, and Orochimaru led the off. Being the last one's in the room, Yahiko finally stood up to speak to Sarutobi.

Yahiko stormed down the steps, but slowed as he noticed the sadness in the Third's eyes. "Lord Hokage… What happened?"

"I'm sorry, children, but your previous caretaker, Tsunade, will not be coming back."

"WHAT?!" all three of them screamed at once.

"Dan has… passed away… Apparently, according to a note Orochimaru received in the mail, she had come back to the village briefly, and took Dan's niece, Shizune, before leaving the village. She said... being a Hokage is a fool's job, and that it was my fault Dan had died… She also said she wouldn't be returning. Judging by what Orochimaru said, she was deeply traumatized by his death, and he had been extremely grief-stricken himself," the Third explained, then hung his head. "That news hit me pretty hard," Sarutobi took a deep breath, observing the teary faces of Yahiko and Konan, and the shocked, downtrodden face of Nagato. He finally decided to tell them why they weren't put on a team, just to get off the topic. "Anyways, I apologize for the inconvenience that you had by not getting your team, or your preferred sensei. Jiraiya has put in quite a few… favorable words for you, and from what he's told me about his training with you, you're ready for an immediate C rank mission. He has just returned from the war, and he will be leading you on a dangerous mission that only he can do; that's why Orochimaru will be teaching Minato's team temporarily. Now, if you'd follow me to the tower, I will brief you on the mission."

* * *

A few minutes later, three very bittersweet orphans stood in the Hokage's tower. On the bitter side, Tsunade wasn't coming back. Ever, by her viewpoint. On the sweet side, they got a C rank mission with Jiraiya!

"Listen well, team Jiraiya. This mission is of great importance. Recently in Kirigakure, bandits have raided a trading caravan, and a baby from the Terumi family had been kidnapped. This family is very high in their stanings in Kirigakure, and wealthy enough to pay us for the recovery. From Kiri's last report, the bandits have made it to the Fire Country's border. As you all know, we have recently come out of a war, and need to rebuild relations with other countries. Since Kiri is not allowed on our side of the border, they have asked for our assistance. They have pushed for the condition that one of their shinobi is allowed to accompany us, a term to which we have agreed. I have placed you three under Jiraiya because he has the most experience dealing with foreign allies or adversaries. The bandits seem to be making a beeline for Iwagakure, and you will meet the Kiri-nin, Akio Momochi, halfway between here and the shoreline, in hopes of cutting the bandits off. Any questions?"

All four of them shook their heads.

"Good. You are dismissed."

The team walked outside, and Jiraiya, who had been in his formal meeting-mode, cracked a smile at Yahiko. "Say, kid. After this mission, how about you and me go researching? There's this great place over by Yugakure…"

"Su-" Yahiko began, but saw the glare Konan passed him. "No thank you, Jiraiya-sensei."

"Aww, man. How about you, Nagato?"

"Never in a million years."

"C'mon! It's been six months, we gotta have some kind of celebration! I've been living the soldier's life for too long; I need a break!" Jiraiya pouted, looking down at the three. He opened his mouth to say more, but it was suddenly covered by slips of paper.

"You will learn to talk respectfully around women," Konan threatened. "Or you will not talk at all. Understand?"

A muffled "Yes ma'am" was heard, and the papers retreated.

"Now, ahem, we have a mission to get started on. Go pack up your stuff!" Jiraiya ordered, before disappearing in a cloud of smoke.

* * *

_***Omake***_

Konan shook her head. "No way!"

Tsunade grumbled. This was no way to talk to someone's superiors! "I just wanted to let you know I would be teaching you medical ninjutsu!"

"I just wanted to let you know, no! I want to fight, not sit I the back lines waiting for my teammates to be hurt!"

"Yahiko won't do it, and Nagato is an essential part of the offensive part of your team. You need a healer!"

"Why did you think I wanted to in the first place? Just because I'm a girl!?" Konan looks menacingly at the fanfiction authors who make all of the female characters (and Haku) medical ninja. "No. I'm a fighter, and nothing will change that."

"God damnit… Will you at least learn how to use your paper as bandages?"

Konan pondered monetarily. "Fine. But that's it! Nothing more!"

* * *

**Author's Notes: **Sorry, people I just addressed in that omake, but it's true and you know it! Every girl! EVERY ONE OF THEM! How do you guys like the first mission idea? Don't worry, even though it's a Momochi, this will be nothing like the Wave Arc. Anyways, sorry it's been so long, again, and thanks to all the support I've gotten! It's really made me happy! Also, sorry for the kind of short chapter. As always, favorite, follow, and review!


	7. Mission Start!

**Rainstorm Chapter 7**

***Mission Start!***

I must say… Attack on Titan is my favorite anime currently. Manga, too. For all of those that thought just because I'm writing Naruto, that it was my favorite series, you're wrong. I loved it, and still do, but the chapters right now are all hype, no progression. Hopefully the fight starts soon. Just saying. Oh yeah, the story… I have so many scenes from so many times planned out, I don't know how I'll end the series. I'm scared. Bur, I only have like 18k words (including this chapter), so I have time. Also, most popular Nagato/Konan/Yahiko story. There are only like 8 or 9 others, so it might not be an amazing achievement, but it's still legit. Anyways, thanks for the support that got me here! I love you (no homo)! As always, review, fav, and follow!

**The totally not-forgotten Disclaimer: No, I don't own Naruto. You wouldn't know what Naruto is if I owned it. I would fail so hard (I can't draw).**

* * *

The newly-appointed genin team stood at Konoha's gates, their eyes shining with anticipation. Sure, they had loved Konoha when they arrived, but they hadn't left since, and it was getting boring! They also were able to try on their new ninja outfits, courtesy of Jiraiya.

Nagato had a large, dark red shirt on, covering his hands. The shirt extended down to his mid-thigh, and he had tough, dark blue pants on below that. Though he didn't have a visible kunai pouch, he had hidden pockets in both of his sleeves, containing his weapons. Nagato had put up a huge fight over wearing a Konoha hitai-ate, because he still hadn't gotten over the shinobi who killed his parents. Even though he admitted not all of Konoha was like that, he didn't want to be associated with them. He was sliding a kunai in and out of each pocket quietly, to seem like he was practicing, when in actuality it was just a nervous habit that he did when he was waiting.

The blue-haired girl was tapping her foot impatiently, but had a slight, but eager, smile on her face. Konan was wearing a loose, grey-blue shirt with short sleeves, and had a chain mesh shirt running under it, extending to just past her elbows. She wore baggy black pants and had a kunai pouch on both legs. She had worn a hitai-ate at first, but had taken it off after Nagato's outburst, for unknown reasons. Konan knew it didn't bother Nagato much that they were wearing them; he had no problem with that, only the fact he wouldn't wear one.

Yahiko had a new dark green jacket, which he wore unzipped, revealing a light brown shirt underneath. He had pants of the same brown, but with darker splotches making it seem more camouflaged. Yahiko was the only one to be wearing a hitai-ate, wrapped around his right arm. He was currently leaning against the gate, smiling smugly.

"I never knew how well I could wear… well, anything! I'm just plain sexy!" Yahiko exclaimed, remembering himself in the mirror.

"Oh, get over yourself. You wouldn't know what sexy is unless you saw me at a club," Yahiko stumbled forward, revealing a pushing hand of Jiraiya behind him. "Sorry I'm late, I had to pick up some notes I took last night. I need them for my next big selling novel!"

"Save it," Konan said. "We have a Kiri-nin to meet, and some bandits to catch. Let's go already!" Though she insisted on leaving, she was smart. Konan waited by the gate for Jiraiya, knowing if she went first she would probably get lost.

Jiraiya chuckled. "Alright, alright, let's go then!"

* * *

Jiraiya set a leisurely pace, on the guise that he wanted to admire the view. He passed out copies of the mission requirements to the genin and led the way to the set meeting point, pondering over Tsunade's decision to leave the village. Meanwhile, the genin were pondering the papers they were given.

Yahiko was the first to speak up about it. "You know, I'm not sure seven years old qualifies as a baby." The child that the Third Hokage had referred to as a baby was actually seven years old, and while this mistake would be overlooked by adults, for kids it was like being grouped together as babies.

"Do you think adults see us as toddlers? I mean, maybe they categorize all kids as babies or toddlers. I don't like it," Konan said, scrutinizing the page for its every detail.

"Umm," Nagato interjected, "It even says baby in the report. 'We just want our little baby back!' Forgive my disrespect, but this is just wrong to treat someone of that age like that!"

The twelve year olds stood united. When they got back to the village, they were talking to Sarutobi. Sternly, as nearly-teenagers.

Yahiko continued, drowned in his own thoughts. Suddenly he stopped, wide-eyed. "Yo, Jiraiya-sensei, who's going to be teaching us after this mission? You have Minato's team, so you can't teach us!"

Jiraiya shook himself out of his thoughts. He started to reply, then faltered, hanging his head. "Well, actually, I don't know. Maybe one of the war veterans?"

"Interesting," Nagato muttered sarcastically. They didn't have plans for the orphans. They taught them out of courtesy, nothing more.

"I wonder if _he's _still alive," Konan hissed under her breath, so only Nagato and Yahiko heard. Neither of them really understood it; Konan never really spoke with such venom. When she didn't elaborate, the two decided to let her be. If they had learned one thing, it's that you never pry into Konan's anger.

* * *

"Are we there yet?" Yahiko moaned. It had been three hours, and they were moving forward ever so slowly.

"For the last time, no, Yahiko! Now shut up and keep walking. We're not going to make it half way across the Fire Country in a day!" Jiraiya yelled at him, then leaned back, rubbing his forehead. "I forgot how annoying these little-"

"Young adults," Konan interrupted. What's with these kids today!? They seem so intent on their age being right, it's ridiculous!

"How annoying these _young adults _can be. Happy? You know, Yahiko, I _could _have been there by now, if you WEREN'T DRAGGING YOUR FEET THE ENTIRE TIME!"

"Oh, get over yourself, sensei! If we weren't here, you'd have stopped to make camp already. We're going faster than you would have!"

"But I also would have stopped to make camp BECAUSE I WAS ALREADY THERE!"

"Can't we just walk in silence?" Nagato pleaded, trying to get rid of his oncoming headache.

"Nagato!" Jiraiya snapped. "Tell Yahiko how I'm right!"

"No, Nagato! I'm right and you know it!""

Nagato sighed. He didn't sign up for this. He shot a pleading look at Konan, who acknowledged it with a look of annoyance. After a moment, though, she gave in.

"Fine…" she muttered. Why was she always the voice of reason? She stepped in between Yahiko and Jiraiya as they glared at each other, and as they began to interrogate her as they did Nagato, she yelled, "SHUT UP!" It worked momentarily, but they were soon back to arguing. What they didn't notice, however, was Konan's change of expression. It changed from annoyed to a slight (evil) smile. "Now, now, boys. Your both ugly, and neither of you will get a steady girlfriend, so it doesn't matter who's right. You will both forever rot in the bitter depths of loneliness before you die alone and insane over the lack of love in your life. Questions?"

The amount of pure killer intent in the air as she said it was enough to shock even Jiraiya, and all three guys stared at her, gaping.

Konan's dark look was quickly replaced by one of delight, and the killer intent disappeared. "Good! Now, let's go! I don't want to be late meeting our new friend!"

* * *

Well, that plan would have worked if night hadn't existed. But, alas, the darkness can stop any travelers journey. The team set up three tents in a forest clearing, if it could be called that. The forest had thinned tremendously, but had left swampland in its wake. What they were sleeping on now was one of the only dry islands, thanks to Yahiko's water jutsu.

Yahiko pulled a tiny bit more water out of the earth, before plopping down with a sigh. "I haven't been able to use any jutsu at the Academy… they're so strict about it."

"You know, I could have dried this entire swamp in one try," Jiraiya said, leaning back in his chair in front of his tent.

"Shut up, sensei! I know you're good, but you're not that good!" Yahiko replied. Jiraiya was about to respond when a wave of killer intent flooded over them from the other corner of the camp, where Konan was facing away from them, working on her tent. They didn't need to be told twice. Yahiko went over to help Nagato with their tent, while Jiraiya slipped into his tent.

"Yahiko, I know it's fun, but stop arguing with Jiraiya-sensei," Nagato said, shaking slightly. "Konan's starting to scare me. I'm not sure if she'll leave me out of the punishment when she follows through…"

"What was that, Nagato?" Konan yelled from across the clearing, causing Nagato to stiffen. "Nothing, Konan!"

"Good."

Nagato leaned in to whisper to Yahiko. "You see what I mean! She's going insane!"

"Oh, it's fine. Jiraiya told me that when girls are mad they're most likely on-" Yahiko stopped mid-sentence, seeing the shadow from over his shoulder.

"Yahiko… I know all you learned about girls was from Jiraiya, so I'll cut you a tiny bit of slack. But… If you ever start saying that out loud again, I will kill you. By the way, no, I'm not. I'm just tired, understand? I was stressing about this mission, okay? I didn't get any sleep last night."

Yahiko stared at the scary girl behind him, noticing the dark rings under her anger-filled eyes. "Oh… I'm sorry."

"As you should be. Now, I'm going to bed, and I swear to Kami, if you wake me up, you will be destroyed," Konan stormed to her tent, leaving two stunned orphans.

Nagato coughed. "Yahiko, I'm sorry, but… you're an idiot."

"Shut up!" Yahiko grumbled, putting up the last stake of the tent.

* * *

"Nagato… wake up!"

Nagato groaned. This was getting old.

"What?!"

"Jiraiya left his tent again…" Yahiko whispered excitedly, nudging his friend in the stomach.

"You can read, can't you? Do it yourself."

"C'mon, it's no fun alone."

"It's also no fun being caught by Konan. Now go to sleep."

That problem was solved.

… Or so Nagato thought. However, when he heard Yahiko slipped out of the tent, he sighed in exasperation and closed his eyes.

Ten minutes later, Nagato was awoken by a body landing on him, knocking the wind out of him. He opened his eyes to orange hair, and saw Konan standing at the entrance.

"You're lucky I want you alive," she said ominously, before leaving.

"Yahiko, are you okay? Speak to me!" Nagato shook his friend, but then dropped him as he saw a smile on Yahiko's bruised face.

"I got some pages… Totally worth it…"

* * *

Nagato woke up to see Yahiko hunched over, drooling on a few crumpled papers in front of him. Yahiko had fallen asleep reading that perverted story! Nagato left the tent without waking him up, knowing he would become even more annoyed if he did.

Jiraiya and Konan were already by the morning fire, and Konan seemed so much happier than she was the day before. She chewed on a piece of bacon, while Jiraiya cooked some eggs over the fire.

"Good morning, Nagato!" Konan said, waving happily.

'_Note to self: girls need sleep. Either that, or Konan was recently abducted, replaced, and returned by a mean alien race.' _Nagato thought, shocked by the sudden change in attitude.

"Morning, kid!" Jiraiya waved.

"Umm, Jiraiya-sensei, why are we having such a big meal? Don't we need to get going?" Nagato asked, blinking his purple eyes in confusion.

"Oh, yeah, about that…" Jiraiya said, finishing a slab of bacon. "I sent a messenger hawk with our location to Akio Momochi, and he said he would come to us if we made him a warm meal."

"That's an interesting request," Nagato stated.

"You don't know crap, kid. When you live in Kirigakure, you either get fish or cold food. A warm meal is godly when you live there!" A tall man, who looked to be about Jiraiya's age, jumped out of the trees, landing and stretching.

The man had short black, spiky hair and a rough face that had a light covering of facial hair. He wore a tight black, sleeveless shirt to show off his muscles, and long grey sweatpants. He had two swords, one longer and one smaller, crossed in an X shape on his back. His hitai-ate was wrapped around his forehead. What was unnerving, though, was that his smirk revealed sharp, shark-like teeth.

"Oh yeah, almost forgot. Before you kill me, I'm Akio Momochi. I heard you're the people who were gonna help me get the kid back? I could've sworn they said there were four of you…"

"Good *yawn* morning everyone…" Yahiko stumbled out of the tent, scratching his back. After a moment, he realized there was another shinobi with them. "OH SHOOT! Guys, there's an enemy ninja! Don't you see him!? He's right there!"

"Yes, Yahiko, we see him. This is our partner for this mission. Get used to it," Jiraiya explained lazily.

Yahiko looked the man over with his arms crossed, before simply uttering, "Oh."

"So, Akio, how is life in Kirigakure?" Konan asked in an effort to make conversation.

"Food first, talk later. I'm starved!" Akio reached forward and took a slab of bacon right off of the pan it was cooking on without reacting to the heat. He took each bite slowly, as if savoring it. "Oh yeah, that's good. Haven't had any meat other than fish in a long time!"

In a few minutes he was done. After licking the grease from his fingers, he looked at Konan. "Well, little girl, let me tell you about Kirigakure. We're a dark city on a cold island where it rains a lot. The only thing it's got going for it is that the Second Mizukage is nice if you don't mention his moustache, and I have a girlfriend there. Other than that, I look forward to missions on the mainland. The rain there is depressing, like tears."

Yahiko perked up at this. "Yeah, we know what you mean. We three lived in Amegakure before coming to Konoha. It rained every day there, as if suppressing our hope," he said sadly.

"Oh Kami, kid, don't remind me! I came here to get away from that, let me forget it in peace!"

The mood lightened after that, with Akio making small talk occasionally. After all was said and done, Jiraiya and Akio had and adults-only meeting, and then they all set off to intercept the bandits.

* * *

**Author's Notes: **Well, new chapter! Yay! What do you guys think of Akio? I wasn't just going to make him Zabuza reborn! I mean, Come on now! Also, I'm starting to feel sorry for Nagato… When will they ever learn? Anyways, as always, review, fav, and follow! Thanks,

Nayod


	8. Contact

**Rainstorm Chapter 8**

***Contact***

Hello everybody! I'm back, and ready to write. I was missing a certain part of this story, as in I hadn't planned it out, but I have it now! YAY! Also, updates that I could have written over this time but didn't… X and Y. Enough said. As always, follow, favorite, and review!

**Disclaimer (That I DIDN'T JUST REALIZE I FORGOT AS I PROOFREAD!): **I don't own Naruto. I'm not sure you would like it if I did.

* * *

"More please!"

Akio Momochi and Yahiko put their plates out for more at the same time, both looking like they were stuffed to the brim. Konan sighed and handed her leftovers to Yahiko, while Nagato handed his to Akio. Jiraiya simply sighed.

"You know, there is a mission we're supposed to go on, right?" Nagato asked. He had already eaten his fill, but Akio seemed to have a stomach larger than he was; the swordsman wasn't large, by any means. He was lean and muscular, which was odd considering his breakfast intake.

"Yeah, yeah, I know. The thieves will pass slightly to the north of here in about ten minutes, so I have time," the man waved the question off, and then went back to clearing his plate.

Jiraiya stiffened and glared at Akio. "What do you mean, in ten minutes?! According to my calculations, we should still have an hour!"

Akio shrugged. "You were given faulty information. I was following the group, and there pace went from civilian level to genin, possibly chuunin level last night. So, I out ran them, met you guys here, and now I'm hungry. Understand?"

"Damn it… I had to get the arrogant one, didn't I?" Jiraiya muttered. He looked at the genin, who were all sitting in a row on a log they had pulled close to the fire. "You have five minute to pack up, kiddies! Our mission is starting early!"

"But- *gulp*- I'm still eating!" Yahiko said as he ran to his and Nagato's tent while taking bites out of his breakfast.

"Save it for later! You get a mission, and this is how it works! There is no time for goofing off!"

"Fine… jeez." Yahiko slumped and glared at Jiraiya, and then quickly threw his plate that was covered in remnants of egg and bacon at Jiraiya. Jiraiya, who had turned around, was hit in the back of the head.

"Want to play it that way, huh?" Jiraiya said darkly. He turned around and made a hand sign, and a small ball of fire sailed past Yahiko, lighting his tent on fire. "Now you don't have to clean up." Jiraiya smirked and went to where Akio was sitting to discuss their plan of attack.

Yahiko, meanwhile, was watching his stuff burn. "That's all my survival gear…"

"It's also my tent," Nagato said, coming up behind him. "Luckily, though, I had all of my stuff packed away and ready to go," he continued, motioning to the storage seal Jiraiya gave him, which was in a side pocket of his kunai pouch. "From now on, I get my own tent. Period."

Yahiko was left staring at the smoldering remains of his tent, cursing himself for not keeping the pages of Jiraiya's book on his person.

* * *

"What the hell?!" Jiraiya hissed as he felt the chakra signatures of the bandits skyrocket.

The Konoha/Kiri team was currently hidden in the trees along the path the thieves were taking. They were still ten minutes away, but the chakra spike scared Jiraiya. He looked over to see Akio's face cloud with anger.

"This isn't good… these are high level opponents. Not Kage level, but enough to give us a hard fight."

This news scared the white-haired man even more. He looked across from them where the genin were situated. Konan was absentmindedly folding and unfolding a paper shuriken, and Yahiko was jittering with excitement, an arrogant smile on his face. Nagato was the only one who seemed to notice the chakra signatures; he sat with his mouth slightly agape and wasn't moving a muscle. Luckily, the jonin had sensed the chakra signatures before the genin, as would be expected. Now Jiraiya just had to get the team out so he and Akio could fight the enemies alone…

Jiraiya closed his eyes and concentrated, letting his search become clearer. _'There are… three of them. Two of them are chuunin, one is at jonin level. They're coming quickly… If I break formation, they'll spot us and the team won't have time to get away…' _Jiraiya opened his eyes and noticed that Nagato was panicking. Not loudly, he wasn't even moving, but he met Jiraya's gaze with pure terror in his eyes.

"They're nearly here…" Akio muttered, drawing the longer of the two swords with his right hand and putting his hand on the smaller one.

Thinking quickly, Jiraiya reached back and grabbed a cluster of his white hair. He then locked eyes with Nagato. With his free hand, he pointed at himself and Akio and punched the air in front of him near the path, and then pointed at Nagato, before pointing at his hair. It was a rough code, yes, but when Nagato stiffly nodded his understanding, Jiraiya knew it worked. He had hoped Nagato remembered what the colors for the hop-in planks from so long ago.

_'When we attack, you get out!'_

The forest was silent for a few seconds. Slowly, the sound of light footsteps came into earshot. A split second later, three shinobi jumped in front of them, all wearing standard Iwagakure gear. Before they could even land on the next branch, Jiraiya and Akio were on them. At that same moment, Nagato grabbed both of his teammates by the collar and fell backwards, pulling them off the tree and away from the battle. Jiraiya jumped on the leader, using his hair to catch the man and hold him in front of him. Akio went for the flanking chuunin, decapitating one with his larger sword before they even saw him. He threw the larger sword at the one farther away, nailing his foot to the ground faster than he could dodge. Akio then drew his smaller sword, flipping it so he held it backwards, and slicing the chuunin's chest, and then flipping it again so he could stab downwards from behind. The sword went through his back, puncturing his heart before protruding from the front of his stomach.

"That was too easy…" Akio smirked, flashing his sharp teeth in victory. He pulled his sword from the man's chest and the other one from his foot, and then wiped them off on the grass before sheathing them.

"Not quite…" Jiraiya said seriously, looking up at the man he captured. "We still haven't found the child." His hair's grip tightened on the Iwa shinobi. "Where is she?! The Terumi child, where is she!?"

"Heh… It doesn't matter. The point is we did what we needed to. Iwa is not losing this war, especially not to Kiri," the man said, spitting in Jiraiya's face.

"What are you talking about?! The war is over! Do you really want more lives to be lost?"

"The Second Great Shinobi War won't be over until Iwagakure is acknowledged as superior!"

"JUST GIVE UP AND GIVE US THE DAMN GIRL!" Jiraiya yelled. He would not let a war that caused so many of his comrade's lives and sanities to be continued.

"Well, lucky for you, she's still alive. Unluckily for you, she's probably nearing the Iwa border right about now. Now…" the man struggled slightly to test Jiraiya's grip, **"Yoton: Sekkaigyo no Jutsu!"**

Melted limestone made its way to Jiraiya's face, causing him to panic and release his grip of the jonin. Akio wasn't fast enough to bring his sword down before the man was replaced with a log of wood.

"Damn it… he got away…" Akio mumbled, but then perked up as he heard a scuffle in the trees to their left.

"Oh no… he found my team!" Jiraiya hurled himself over a fallen log as raced through to foliage, hoping the Iwa jonin hadn't gotten the best of them.

He burst into a clearing to find his genin alright, and all wearing their own versions of smug faces. Yahiko was smirking, leaning against a prison of water that held the Iwa shinobi. The man himself was covered in cuts, probably from Konan, and his clothes were torn and some of his skin was torn off. That was probably from Nagato's **Futon: Renkudan, **one of his many ninjutsu specialties.

"Jiraiya-sensei, you underestimate us! We probably could have taken them all by ourselves!" Yahiko called out to him. However, the chakra required from holding a **Suiton: Suiro no Jutsu **was too much for the young genin, and he was beginning to waver. It was a surprise he could even use it in the first place; it was a high-level technique and required a lot of chakra!

Akio had crossed the clearing before Jiraya had even entered it. He slid under the spherical prison of water and sliced upwards, standing up at the other side. Slowly, blood began to flow from the man's Achilles' Tendons.

"Don't even think about trying that again…" he warned. "It's okay, Yahiko, you can let go now."

Sighing, Yahiko pulled his hand out of the bubble and slumped to the ground. "Thank Kami! I never realized holding a bubble would be so hard…"

Jiraiya smiled at the boy's troubles but fear reclaimed him when he realized he hadn't seen Nagato or Konan. "Yahiko, where are Nagato and Konan?!"

"I'm up here, Jiraiya-sensei," Jiraiya head Nagato call from above him. The red-haired boy was sitting in a tree branch directly above him, leaving Jiraiya to curse himself for not noticing him sooner. "Konan is over there," Nagato continued, pointing to the far end of the clearing. Jiraiya saw a flash of dull blue hair beneath the leaves that confirmed Nagato's claim.

Konan jumped down and landed softly. She walked over to them, stepping gingerly around the pool of blood that was coming from the Iwa shinobi. "Yahiko had us set up a trap, in case he tried to escape. Nagato would be the one who watched for him, and when he got between the two of us we would attack. Yahiko came in the trap him afterwards."

"Yeah, that guy completely underestimated us! He was down before he could even throw a kunai!" Yahiko exclaimed as he punched the air with enthusiasm.

"I tried to get them to run away, but I guess this worked out fine," Nagato mumbled.

"Okay, first," Jiraiya said sternly, "Never take on a jonin level opponent unless I'm here. Second, never take on a chuunin level opponent unless all three of you are together, and that's if there is only one enemy. Otherwise you run. Lastly, don't ever scare me like that again. I didn't bring you from Amegakure so you could die here, understand? The Hokage would have my head!"

The three orphans nodded their understanding, but turned their attention to Akio as he picked up the enemy jonin by the hair. "I'll take care of this guy, we still need to find out where they took the girl." A dense mist formed a small sphere around Akio and the enemy, and all noise seemed to stop.

"Well, I'm still hungry. Do we have any more food?" Yahiko rubbed his stomach to make his point.

"You can get food after we find the kid! Honestly, with all you're eating, you would never have known you could survive off of the scraps you got in Amegakure!" Jiraiya berated, but earned a glare from Yahiko.

"It's because I had to eat so little then that I eat so much now," he said coolly. Since Jiraiya hadn't been with them for so long, he didn't know that anything relating to their poverty in Ame was off limits when Yahiko was around. The boy didn't like being reminded about how bad it was.

"Fine. Well, interrogation usually takes a while, so we can set up a small camp here. No fires or unpacking, I'll just get some food out. Meanwhile, you can tell me the fight, blow by blow," Jiraiya said as he got out the food pack.

Yahiko's smile immediately reappeared and he started the story with elation. "So, we were all set up in the trees when Nagato signaled that the guy got away from you. He jumped right- here!-" Yahiko yelled, jumping over to an oddly torn up spot. "That's when Konan threw her paper shuriken like _swesh swish SLASH _and Nagato spit wind bullets at him like _pew pew pew _and I came in and hit him with a **Suiton: Mizurappa **and then put him in the bubble and then you guys showed up." Astonishingly, Yahiko said this all in one breath, with hand motions and everything. Even more astonishing, Jiraiya had a good idea about what actually happened afterwards.

Yahiko's story ended right on time; a minute later, Akio's mist sphere dispersed and he dropped the man to the ground.

"Good news is, they didn't kill her. Bad news is, after I finished ollowing them last night they passed the Terumi kid off to another group, so they wouldn't be followed. The other group is capable of going jonin speeds, and this one slowed down so it would look believable to anyone who followed them. At that rate…" Akio paused to do some calculations in his head, "we'll be able to cut the group off, but it won't be until the border to the Earth Country. It'll be a close call… I'm going to send word for back up."

"Why? I mean, I know why you want back up, but why from Kiri? I can send a toad to Konoha and..." Jiraiya explained, questioning the shinobi's motives.

"Reasons. They will have a _team _meeting them that I want a certain person to be here for," Akio hissed. Jiraiya had a slight suspicion there was something that Akio was not telling them, but wrote it off as his hatred for Iwa.

"Well, we can't wait for that person, not without letting them cross the border."

"He might be late for the beginning of the battle, but he will make it. Trust me."

Jiraiya sighed. Just his luck, stuck with the stubborn one. "Well, I guess we'd better get going."

Akio pulled a small seal out of his pocket and put some chakra into it. "Okay, I've sent the request. Let's go."

* * *

It took them two hours to reach the Iwa border. The trees thinned out there, so Konan and Nagato were hiding behind a large rock near the tree line. Yahiko had taken a smaller rock to the left, and Akio and Jiraiya were hiding farther ahead. They could feel the chakra signatures coming closer, two teams from both sides of the border-marking river. The chakra signatures from their side… only two. Chuunin level and pre-genin level, presumably to Terumi child. The chakra from the Iwa side was much more powerful, about five chuunin level opponents.

"Akio," Jiraiya hissed, "we need to tell the genin to fall back. They can't handle six chuunin."

"There aren't six chuunin. It's a genjutsu. There's a chuunin, a jonin, and-"

Jiraiya gasped as a mummified figured jumped into view. The man was wrapped head to toe in bandages and had two swords strapped to his back. Beside him was a short man with a warty nose.

"The Tsuchikage himself. Mu, my worst enemy," Akio muttered, glaring daggers at the mummified man.

Jiraiya felt the blood leave his body. Akio had lied to them, and had gotten them trapped between fighting the Tsuchikage and-

Akio jumped over the rock, drawing his swords and running towards Mu.

-fighting the Tsuchikage. The worst part was Yahiko and Konan couldn't see his power like Nagato could; they thought he was a jonin, and since Jiraiya was with them, they revealed themselves. Nagato was fast enough to pull Konan back behind the rock, but Yahiko was already making hand signs. Jiraiya's goal in this battle had just changed drastically; no longer did he care about finding the lost Terumi, but now his goal was keep the genin alive.

* * *

**Author's Notes: **OOOOH SNAP! Hope I don't disappoint with this first battle… Don't worry, there won't be (many) god-mode powers used here. They got caught in a political move… Thanks to Akio. Please, tell me what you think, and also, should I use English for the jutsu names or not? As always ,fav and follow and REVIEW!

Translations:

**Yoton: Sekkaigyo no Jutsu**: Lava Release: Quicklime Congealing Technique

**Futon: Renkudan**: Wind Release: Wind Bullet Technique

**Suiton: Suiro no Jutsu**: Water Release: Water Prison Technique

**Suiton: Mizurappa:** Water Release:Wild Water Wave


	9. Initiation

Thanks for all your support, guys! Why do I say that, you ask? I don't think I've thanked you all enough. Also, shout out to my beta Ikasury! I've been writing the previous chaps without a beta, so I'm probably going to rewrite the chaps slightly, so they flow better, and so Ikasury approves =). Without further ado, let's go back to the fight! As always, follow, fav, and above all, review!

**Disclaimer: **I don't own Naruto, or any character associated with it, so don't sue me.

Nagato pulled Konan back behind the boulder they were hiding behind and put a hand over her mouth. The two enemy shinobi were too much for them, no questions asked. Konan kicked in his grasp, trying to loosen his grip, but Nagato had a firm grip on her, despite his frail frame.

"Konan, we don't have a chance against them," Nagato reasoned as the girl continued to writhe, "Jiraiya can get Yahiko out, but he can't save all of us," he looked at the girl in his arms, "You need to calm down."

When he told her to calm down, Konan became eerily still. Nagato, being the worrier that he was, leaned forward so he could see her face. Konan's expression had become blank, nothing moving but a solitary tear that was shed. Nagato deciphered the expression immediately; the feeling of uselessness that came with being overpowered. The redhead sighed; he was feeling the same thing.

Time seemed to slow as Jiraiya watched Yahiko jump towards the Tsuchikage and his subordinate. From the look on his face, Yahiko had no idea who he was going against. He had an arrogant smile on his face and was reaching for a kunai. Akio had drawn his swords and was charging at the Iwa-nin, targeting Muu.

"Yahiko! Don't!" Jiraiya knew he reacted too late as he reached his arm out to the air. There was no way he could catch him. The boulder Yahiko had jumped from was only slightly behind the Toad Sage's so Yahiko was already too far past him when Jiraiya had noticed him. Still, he had to try.

Jiraiya leapt from his hiding place, throwing two explosive kunai at the Iwa-nin.

Curiously, the mummified Kage and his short, warty-nosed companion hadn't moved.

Slowly, the Tsuchikage sighed, "Onoki, Take the brats, I'll take the jonin." Muu seemed to consider something, tilting his head and looking into the sky as if choosing a meal at a restaurant. "Don't kill them, though," he added, waving his left hand dismissively, "We want a war with Kirigakure, not Konoha," Muu ordered, moving his right hand up slightly to one of his swords.

"Got it," the short one, Onoki, replied. He turned to Yahiko, who was running towards him while making hand seals. Onoki suddenly ducked to the ground and picked up a pebble, throwing it in the air slightly, where it began floating around him. **"Doton: Kajugan no Jutsu."**

The man, who was wearing an all-black flak jacket with black pants and undershirt, pushed his hand outward towards the pebble, which took off at an astonishing speed towards Yahiko. The orange-haired boy either didn't see the pebble or didn't recognize the threat from something so small, so it hit him dead center.

When it struck him, Yahiko crumpled. It hit him on his chest with a force so great the orange-haired boy doubled over, coughing as the air was forced out of his lungs. The momentum carried him back until he hit the boulder he had been behind. There was an explosion as he hit, when the dust cleared it revealed Yahiko struggling as if he was being crushed underneath the tiny pebble.

This all happened before Jiraiya's kunai had reached the Iwa-nin. As the Tsuchikage moved to intercept Akio's charge, Onoki put his hand on the ground and shouted, **"Doton: Kengan no Jutsu!"**

A glove of rock formed around Onoki's right fist. The brown-haired man pulled his fist back and punched, hitting both kunai at once. They exploded, covering the area in a cloud of smoke. When the smoke cleared, the stone fist was visible, but it was anchored to the ground by a stone pillar, with Onoki nowhere to be found.

"Yahiko!" Nagato cried. He had seen his friend take the blow from the pebble, and had dropped Konan to go help him. The orange-haired genin was far enough away from the real fight that Nagato hoped Jiraiya could cover them. When he reached the struggling boy, Nagato couldn't tell what was wrong. He seemed to be suffocating from nothing. It wasn't until Nagato noticed one of the pebbles on his shirt was dense with chakra that he realized what had happened.

Nagato grabbed the small stone, but winced as he realized he couldn't lift it. This puny stone was killing Yahiko! Nagato continued to pull but the pebble wouldn't budge. Under the rock, Yahiko was squirming and his facial expression was panicked. He didn't even seem to realize Nagato was there he was so intent on breathing again.

"Come on… Come on!" Nagato muttered as he tried to lift the pebble. "Damn it!" It wasn't moving, "Damn it, damn it, damn it!" The pebble was going to suffocate his best friend!

Nagato continued struggling against the pebble, even after Yahiko's squirming had become weaker. When Yahiko's panicky movements stopped, however, was when Nagato got mad. "No, Yahiko! You're not dying here! I won't allow it!" Suddenly, Nagato's hands sparked, and his eyes became sore, but the pebble was loose!

Yahiko began gasping as the crushing weight was removed from him, looking at Nagato in thanks.

Nagato locked eyes with his friend and smiled, then saw Yahiko's expression change to one of fear. The Uzumaki turned around to see Onoki breaking out from under the ground and aiming a stone fist at them. The man literally flew at them, and all the two boys could do was watch. Yahiko couldn't move, and Nagato wasn't leaving him.

"**Paper Chakram!"**

Onoki was knocked off his path when the giant hoop of paper hit him, a small amount of blood coming from the side that was hit. Konan landed next to Yahiko and Nagato, her gaze drilling into Onoki's soul.

"Get Yahiko somewhere safe, then come back to help. I can hold him off, Nagato," Konan stated, extending her arms outward as paper swarmed around her.

Nagato complied with a nod, supporting Yahiko as they made their way out of the fight.

Onoki, who was currently floating in the air with his arms crossed, smirked, "Trust me, girl, you'll need all the help you can get."

Jiraiya jumped into the cloud of smoke with his kunai drawn. His goal was simple: kill Onoki, and get away from Muu. Sadly, things never work that easily.

The sage's attack hit a detached fist of stone, with no Onoki in sight.

"Damn it," Jiraiya cursed, scanning the area. He looked back to see Nagato helping Yahiko, so they were fine for the moment, the Konoha jonin sighed with relief. He barely had time to react when he looked up and was met with one of Muu's blades inches from his face. How did he get there so quickly? Muu was at least ten meters away when Jiraiya had seen him last!

There was no way to get out of this situation. Muu had gotten close to him with a sword. Jiraiya knew that at that point, he wouldn't be able to defeat the Tsuchikage, only stall him, which was his original goal, but…

There was a flash of silver and the clang of steel meeting steel as Akio intervened.

"Damn it, Jiraiya! I can handle this guy; I don't need you messing me up!" the black-haired man yelled, his sharp teeth bared in annoyance. He had dashed between Jiraiya and Muu, catching the mummified man's sword between his blades. Akio subconsciously noted Muu hadn't drawn his second sword, which could be because he wasn't as good with two swords... but Akio knew that wasn't true. Muu was extremely skilled with dual wielding, as Akio had seen in their last battle. No, Muu was underestimating them.

Akio pushed Muu's blade back and kicked Jiraiya backwards so he wouldn't be caught in the crossfire. "Jiraiya, find the Terumi girl! If we don't catch them now, they'll be able to get by us when we're distracted by the battle! Most likely, the carrier is a jonin, so you don't want him to flank us! GO!" Akio yelled, his face set in determination when he spoke.

Akio pushed backwards, facing the Tsuchikage with his shorter sword held over his head and the larger one held loosely near the ground. The Tsuchikage simply stood where he was, watching Akio with a bored and tired expression signified by his drooping eyelids. His body was tense, ready to move at a moment's notice.

Jiraiya was about to object before he realized the truth in the statement; if they let the carrier flank them, the battle would turn out drastically different. He jumped back and looked to the sparse tree line behind them, watching for movement. His gaze drifted to where his team was battling Onoki. At first, the white-haired man was going to help them fight the Iwa-nin, but then he saw Konan blast him with a barrage of paper, and he decided that they could hold out for a moment.

'_Wait a minute,' _Jiraiya's eyes widened as he saw a flash of movement as a tall figure jumped out of the trees behind the fight, aiming straight for Nagato and his wounded teammate.

Jiraiya knew he was too far away to intervene directly… Thinking quickly, he bit his thumb on instinct and pressed his hands on the ground, yelling**"Kuchiyose no Jutsu!"**

As soon as he summoned him, the aquamarine toad stood to about Jiraiya's height, taking stock of the situation. However, once he saw the familiar faces of the Ame trio, the toad drew his dual blades and jumped forward with his powerful legs, stabbing the jonin behind Nagato and Yahiko through the chest.

"Gamahiro? What are you doing here?" Nagato asked, confused that one of his sensei's summons was out.

"It's obvious, isn't it? Jiraiya had to make sure I covered for your lack of observation and save you from that shinobi," the toad, Gamahiro, replied, squatting on his back legs. "The first thing you should have said was, 'Thank you for saving me, Gamahiro,' but no one does that anyways. Also, I made sure I missed the kid. She's all yours. Now, if you'll excuse me, I'm going back to Jiraiya. Good luck with that Onoki character."

"Oh, Akio… Are we really going to do this again?" Muu's head tilted downward slightly, the bandages where his eyebrows would be raised questioningly. "Last time you lived because of your teammate," the condescending tone in the man's voice became more prominent, and the bandages around his mouth stretched, as if he was grinning, "so I'm pretty sure that, no, you can't handle me," Muu twirled his solitary blade, standing straight and relaxed, making Akio even angrier.

"Don't taunt me, Muu," Akio could feel Muu stoking his anger, pushing it, but he didn't care, "or mention my teammate!" His dark eyes were laced with hatred as he started the Kage down, remembering how bravely his partner had fought that day, and how Muu was now dishonoring him… I-"

"Need to learn respect." Muu sliced at Akio's head, his eyes wide with sadistic excitement, "I am the Tsuchikage, and you're challenging me to a one-on-one kenjutsu battle!" The Kage's hidden grin grew wider, to the point that the bandages were pulled to their full extent, a crazed look in his eyes. "Also," the Tsuchikage lunged forward with his thin blade so quickly Akio barely deflected it, before jumping back again, "don't tell me what to do. I'll taunt you," another swipe barely missed, "I'll crush you," Muu retreated again, raising his hand and clenching it into a fist, "and then follow through when I obliterate your arrogance and leave your ego in pieces, just like I did to your precious friend!" Muu laughed sadistically, cackling that pounded against Akio's pride. Muu looked down from the sky, meeting Akio's gaze and pointing his single blade at him. "I'll rip you to shreds, you foolish shinobi!"

"Shut up!" Akio yelled, his killing intent flaring as he charged forward. He brought the larger blade down from above, while slicing across with the other one, but Muu blocked the slice at his gut and sidestepped the higher attack with ease. Akio flipped his shortblade and attacked his feet, but the Tsuchikage jumped over the blade and began bringing his sword down on the Momochi from the air. However Akio was expecting him to jump, and using his larger sword, which had been embedded in the ground, he jumped and kicked Muu in the chest, knocking him backwards.

Muu slid on the ground, but managed to keep his footing, only to be set upon. Akio's storm of blades pushed the Tsuchikage into an even more defensive position, but Akio seethed when he noticed Muu was still easily blocking his attacks.

"All right… Let's see how you handle this! **Kirigakure no Jutsu!" **Akio stopped momentarily in his flurry of strikes, making a one-handed sign. Mist seemed to leak from his body as he did so, before it covered the area they were fighting in. Akio faded into the mist, leaving Muu alone.

Muu looked around into the impenetrable mist with a bored expression under his bandages, "Is this it? The most overused technique in Kiri?" his annoyance at the loss of a kill made him angrier. "You don't think I've fought in this before?"

"It's not that I don't think you've fought in it…" Akio Momochi's voice echoed, coming from everywhere at once, "It's that I need to push every advantage I can get until I beat you!"

Akio flickered into existence behind the Kage, bringing both of his swords down vertically at Muu's back.

"Gotcha," Akio smirked.

"Not likely," Akio's face contorted in true fear as he saw another Muu coming out of the original's back, it's face-bandages stretched in a contorted grin, grabbing the leftover blade on Muu's back and blocking his attack. "I've fought your Mizukage before. This jutsu is nothing compared to his!"

"Damn it…" Akio cursed, falling back into the mist to observe.

"However… using my **Fission Technique **for a full fight would be giving you too much credit. You aren't even worthy to fight two of me!" The extra torso, still attached to the original, melded back into Muu, who cracked his neck and sighed. "Akio Momochi, you truly bore me." He flipped his blade and skillfully returned it to the scabbard. "You are just another shinobi from Kirigakure. **Jinton: Genkai Hakuri no Jutsu!" **Muu thrust his hands downward, and a transparent cube with a bright, circular center formed under them.

Akio' dark eyes widened and he jumped up and away, running from the Kage in fear, annoyed at himself for forgetting about the Tsuchikage's Jinton techniques.

A few seconds later, the world exploded around him. Akio was knocked into the air, the mist fading as his concentration slipped. His body landed just outside the large crater that had been created. When he tried to get up, the Momochi winced at the pain caused by the bleeding shrapnel wounds dotting his body, while continuing to curse his oversight. He looked up to see Muu walking, unscathed, towards him from the center of the crater, absent mindedly twirling his blade.

"I'll be fine, Nagato. I just needed to catch my breath!" Yahiko grumbled as Nagato set him down against the rock.

"Your lungs were being crushed, and the impact of the pebble-"

"Don't call it a pebble! It was a rock, and if anyone at Konoha asks, it was a boulder!"

"Fine. The impact of the _small_ rock bruised your ribs," Nagato corrected himself, emphasizing _small_.

"You know what?" Yahiko challenged, standing up while keeping a strong façade through the pain, "You watch the kid, and I'll go fight!"

"That's not how it works. You're hurt, so you get to watch the kid," Nagato replied, glaring at his stubborn friend.

"Umm… I'm seven. I can watch myself!" chirped a female voice. A girl with dark orange hair, dressed in a fancy blue dress that went all the way down to her feet, poked Nagato in the stomach, making him wince. "I'm Mei Terumi, heir to the Terumi clan, users of the Yoton style, and am much more strong than all of you!"

"Shut up, kid," Yahiko yelled, poking her on the forehead.

"Yeah. Also, it's stronger, not more strong," Nagato corrected, pushing her to the side so he and Yahiko could continue arguing.

Suddenly, Jiraiya jumped over their cover, giving each one of them an appraising look, "You kids alright? I have Gamahiro helping Konan, and I'm going to go back too, but I needed to make sure you were alive, Yahiko. The kids at the Academy are really going to love the story of the great Yahiko being crushed by a pebble!"

"It was a rock! A ROCK!" Yahiko yelled, waving his fist at the man. Nagato seemed to be contemplating something before tapping Yahiko on the shoulder and whispering into his ear. Yahiko's rage-filled face was replaced with a sly smile as he looked at Jiraiya.

"Okay, Jiraiya-sensei. We're going to go rejoin the fight, good luck with the brat!" With that, both genin jumped over their sensei, leaving him alone with Mei.

**Author's Notes: **Wow. I actually was able to write a semi decent fight scene! Tell me what you thought of it, and if you guessed who the kidnapped child was! Thanks for your support, and as always, follow, favorite, and ABOVE ALL, REVIEW!

Nayod.


	10. Decimation

**Rainstorm Chapter 10**

**Decimation**

Howdy, all! Sorry it's been so long, stuff happened in a mythical thing called the "real life." It's scary stuff. Anyways, new chap, and let's see what goes down! As always, fav, follow, and REVIEW (please).

**DISCLAIMER: I don't own Naruto. At the moment… (and probably not in the future)**

* * *

'_Damn it…' _Akio thought, grunting as he supported himself using his larger sword as a crutch. He looked up, locking his dark eyes with Muu's impassive, bored stare. The mummified Tsuchikage was twirling his blade absentmindedly as he walked towards the battered, bleeding man.

"My, my, Akio. What a predicament you're in! First, you challenge the Tsuchikage, _by yourself," _Muu growled accusingly, letting his sword hit the ground with a loud screech as it scratched the rock,_ "_I might add, and then you _actually _thought you could beat me! You're nothing but a fool!"

The Momochi put more weight on his sword, managing to get onto his knees, and spat blood in Muu's direction. The Tsuchikage sighed at the act, and made an exaggerated effort to avoid the spot on the ground. "You won't beat me, Muu!"

"Excuse me, but who is the one barely standing?" Muu put his finger on his chin, looking up in mock-thinking before continuing, "Oh, wait! It's you, Akio Momochi! I'm as healthy as I was before the fight started, except maybe a little less chakra. Maybe… Nope, I just recovered all of that chakra, so you haven't done anything to me!"

Akio picked up his smaller sword from next to him, leveling it shakily with Muu's head as the mummy leisurely made his way over. "I'd sure like to rip that arrogant head off you, Muu. Won't be long… *cough* now."

"Akio! Now!"

Akio pulled back his arm and threw his blade at Muu, while the one who started the attack, Jiraiya, jumped out of the ground behind Muu with a kunai ready to stab into Muu's neck. The sword and Jiraiya were in perfect sync; they would hit at the same time.

"Akio… please," Muu sighed again; something he was becoming very accustomed to with such stupid opponents. He kept walking forward, and as soon as the two threats were nearly upon him, Muu swung his sword at Akio's blade, hitting it at just the right angle so it dug into the ground next to the Momochi. At the same time, he used his **Fission Technique **to create another arm from his right shoulder. The arm reached back with such speed the Toad Sage had no time to react as the back of his head was grabbed and pushed into the Tsuchikage's elbow. Jiraiya's world darkened slightly and he felt multiple cracks in his nose when his head hit, and his world darkened completely when Muu dropped him and punted his limp body across the crater.

"I never realized Sannin could be so stupid… If that's the level you need to be to be legendary ninja, then Iwagakure must be a legendary village!" Muu rolled his shoulder as his extra appendage receded. "Akio… you should tell that damn Mizukage of yours to find better allies!"

Akio said nothing, merely picking up his fallen blade as he watched death march towards him.

* * *

Konan watched as the toad beside her disappeared in a puff of smoke. Onoki had managed to land a powerful hit on Gamahiro as he went in for an attack, dissipating him instantly.

"You should really stop using summons to fight a shinobi; it's rude," Onoki commented, shaking his fist to get the rock off of it. The brown-haired man flew at Konan as she desperately tried to stop his advance with paper shuriken, most of which the Iwa-nin easily dodged.

"**Suiton: Teppodama!" **

A large bullet of water cut right in front of Onoki, stopping his advance before he was forced to retreat as more of the bullets rained down on him. Nagato slid to a stop next to Konan, while Yahiko took up a supporting position on top of a rock behind both of them, continuing to pepper Onoki with water bullets.

"Sorry we're late," Nagato commented, starting a series of hand signs. **"Futon: Renkudan!" **A barrage of wind bullets joined Yahiko's water artillery, forcing Onoki to back up even more as he dodged the strikes. The short man flew between the attacks, which were forming a wall in front of the three.

Suddenly, Yahiko's water bullets stopped, and he jumped down next to them, panting slightly. "Sorry, guys. I don't have enough chakra to keep that going, and it really hurts my ribs…" Yahiko laughed quietly while rubbing the back of his head, before grimacing in pain.

Nagato smiled slyly, stopping his wind barrage to recover his breath. "Dang it, Yahiko! We can't let you go anywhere, even pebbles will hurt you!" Nagato took a deep breath, restarting his jutsu while Yahiko yelled at him.

"IT WAS A ROCK! HEAVY AS A BOULDER!" Yahiko resisted the urge to deck the smug Uzumaki, though containing himself as he realized Nagato was the only one keeping Onoki at bay.

Konan sighed next to them. "Seriously, boys, just fight this battle! Nagato, get Onoki into the sky!" Konan put her hands together flatly, closing her eyes in focus as paper swarmed around her.

Nagato nodded his acknowledgement, and even though he had no idea what the blue-haired girl was planning, he began focusing his attacks on the ground. Dust and rocks flew from the spots his small bullets hit, leaving the Iwa-nin to have to get away from the unsteady earth. He flew upwards, taking a position a fair bit above them.

"What are you brats doing? I mean, honestly. When I'm in the air, you can't touch me!" Onoki leaned back like he would in a chair, flashing an arrogant smile.

"Wanna bet?"

Onoki grunted as the air left his lungs. _'What was that?!' _he thought, opening his eyes and turning slightly, only to be hit again. However, this time he was able to see a flash of blue and white. _'So, it's the girl… I wonder how she's flying?' _Onoki calmed himself and reached with his senses, finding a flicker of chakra coming his way at high speeds. **"Doton: Kengan no Jutsu!"**

The figure flying towards him was forced to dodge out of the way of Onoki's stone fist, and stopped in the air behind him. Hearing the faint flapping of wings, Onoki turned, and was honestly amused by what he saw.

The blue-haired girl he had been fighting earlier was level with him, held up by large paper wings on her pack that were constantly falling apart and rebuilding themselves. She was panting slightly, probably from the large amount of chakra control it was taking to keep the wings together.

"You seem to be having trouble, girl," Onoki taunted as he flew closer to her. It was probably much harder to keep hovering in one place; at least, that was Onoki's main problem when he was learning how to fly. It's much easier to throw yourself somewhere than it is to hold yourself in the air. "Are you new at flying? You caught me off guard the first time, but now I know your weakness." Onoki brought his hands together and yelled, **"Jinton: Genkai Haruki no Jutsu!"**

A small, semi-transparent white cube with a bright, spherical center appeared in front of his hands. He pointed it at Konan, and knowing from his movements the general idea of the jutsu, Konan dashed to the side, narrowly avoiding a small white laser. She came to a stop only to have another laser aimed at her, and another, and another! Konan cursed as she noticed her wings were shrinking; each time she moved, some paper was lost in the air. She came to a halt momentarily, mentally urging the paper to come back to her…

And then her left wing was cut off by a laser.

Konan felt nothing as she fell. She hadn't even noticed Onoki's shots were making her fly higher. All she could do was watch as the clouds grew slightly farther away, and here left wing disassembled itself in the air above her. It wasn't until she realized she could die from the fall that she screamed.

"Gotcha!"

Konan lay where she landed momentarily, not sure how she was still alive. Surely that fall should have killed her! However, when she heard a very muffled and pained whisper from under her did she realize what happened.

"Oi… Konan… That hurt, ya know? Can you… get off of me?" Konan looked down to see Yahiko, face down in the dirt, under her. She began sitting up… only to have someone grab her head and throw it back on the ground. At first, Konan didn't know what was happening, before a white laser cut above the place where her head just was.

"I'll handle him. Don't worry," Nagato said as he removed his hand from her forehead.

"Oh good! You're all in a neat little row…" Onoki put his hands together once more, this time forming a much larger cube of energy. "Muu won't mind if I kill you brats… I mean, he already took out your sensei."

"Wha..?" Nagato took in the full battlefield for the first time since they had engaged Onoki. He was able to see Jiraiya lying in a crater a few meters away from where Akio was just barely dodging Muu's attacks. His mind snapped back to the battle he was in when the chakra in Onoki's hands skyrocketed, and a large blast of energy started coming towards them…

'_NO! We can't die here!' _Nagato jumped over his friends so he was in front of them. _'We have to take back Amegakure! I'm NOT dying by a stupid laser, of all things! On my first mission!' _He put his hands out in front of him, in a futile effort to stop the attack. _'If I can at least keep them alive…' _Nagato closed his eyes at the attack hit…

"Ha. Got you," Onoki smirked, cracking his knuckles and stretching. If those kids were that much trouble for him, then he had better start training more! I mean, he was a jonin after all. He opened his eyes to look at his accomplishment, but fear overtook his successful feeling as he saw the red head, standing with one arm out, the wind swirling around him. The boy's friends still lay behind him, both of their faces looking on in shock. Onoki's fear doubled as he saw the kid's eyes; purple and with a ripple pattern through his singed red hair, just like the book in the Tsuchikage's library talked about! That was… the Rinnegan!

"What the hell?!"

"What the hell? _What the hell _this, you bastard! You tried to kill my friends! It's my turn to attack, now!" Never had Nagato's team seen him so angry. The red head was breathing heavily, and both of his hands were balled into fists. The killer intent around him was suffocating, and his face had hatred that could rival the devil's! He pulled his head back and took a deep breath, before letting loose a wave of fire that encompassed the area in front of him in a vast cone.

Onoki could barely muster a stone wall to block the flames in time, but his thoughts were racing. _'Okay, how is he using a different elemental jutsu?! Wait… it's those damn eyes, isn't it! They belonged to the Sage of the Six Paths! I read about this… Okay, so the powers listed by the book were… umm… Okay, first! The ability to disable ninjutsu, which is what he used to stop my attack! Second is using all elemental affinities… What were the-?!'_

The Tsuchikage's student was snapped out of his thoughts when a bolt of lightning singed the hairs on the left side of his head. His wall crumbled from the hole in it and he had to move quickly to avoid another bolt. Nagato had his goal set: kill the one who tried to kill his friends, by whatever means necessary!

The Uzumaki launched another wave of fire, this time immediately putting his hands on the ground afterwards. Meanwhile, Onoki backed away from the wave of flame, trying to get behind a rock to his right, but was stopped as a large rock wall rose behind him, letting the flames engulf the short man.

Konan rolled off of Yahiko as they all watched the smoke clear. Nagato stood, albeit shakily, watching the smoke with hate-filled eyes. The hair he had grown out to hide the Rinnegan during this mission had been singed off by his fire attacks, and he had a splotches of ash and dirt covering his face. His red cloak was burned in places, but he didn't care. All he cared about was whether or not he had to fry that damned Iwa-nin again.

"Konan, get Yahiko up and go. He's been taken care-"

"Shut up, brat!" The smoke cleared to reveal a stone coffin, which crumbled away to reveal a perfectly-fine Onoki. "You really underestimate jonin, don't you?! You're a genin!" Onoki yelled, waving his hand accusingly at the red head. "You are nothing to me! I could have just taken that attack and nothing would have happened to me! Get ready for a _real _fight!"

* * *

Akio was ready. Not to die… no, far from it! He stared his executioner down, knowing that if he didn't get this right, he would die. But… if he could hold out… just a little longer… he would live! Not only that, he would be a hero that killed a Kage!

The mummified man stopped walking, finally reaching the Momochi and grasping his solitary sword firmly. "So, Akio… resigned to your fate, I presume? No matter… I'll give you some credit. For someone who went toe-to-toe with me in kenjutsu, you've lasted the longest. Sure, I messed with you a little bit, but most would already be dead." The bandages around Muu's mouth stretched as he laughed. "Needless to say, however, you still lost… meaning you still die!" Muu's sword came down, aimed for Akio's head.

Akio smirked. Muu had fallen for it! He shifted slightly so he could kick off of his larger sword, using it to propel himself out of line of the attack and picking up his smaller blade, which had been lodged in the ground next to him. The dark-haired man knew that in his state it would be much easier to fight with only his short sword, so he left the larger one lodged where he had been using it as a crutch. Muu's sword hit the ground, burying itself their while Muu lazily pulled it back out.

"You had to make this hard, didn't you?" he asked, slowly going the meter or so Akio had jumped.

'_I can't move… so I need to make sure his attacks won't hit me!' _Akio thought as he readied himself for Muu's next attack. Muu drew back his blade again, and as he started swinging down, Akio put his blade above him at a horizontal angle to make his attack slide to the ground below him. However, what Akio heard next made him regret this decision.

"**Doton: Chokajugan no Jutsu."**

"Shi-" Akio was cut off as a blade that weighed multiple tons crashed into his, sliding off of it, and hitting the ground next to him with such tremendous force that it sent him flying. The Momochi literally skipped over the rocky terrain before sliding to a halt meters away. Regaining some of his bearings, he made sure he was still holding his sword, and began sitting up again, only to see a flash of movement by his wrist…

"Now, if you're going to make this hard, I'm going to make it _hurt!"_ Muu hissed as he cut off Akio's left wrist, sword and all.

'_No…' _Akio thought in panic and pain. _'No, no, NO!' _He looked down at his bloody stub of an arm and the hand lying on the ground behind it, not registering what had happened. _'I can't lose! Not now!' _Akio didn't even notice as he accidentally swayed out of the way of Muu's blade, staring blankly as he was launched again. He didn't even bother getting up that time, just lying hopelessly on the ground. _'I can't fight now… I don't even have a sword!'_ He barely registered four other forms in his field of view… That red head was sure giving Onoki a run for his money. Akio just surveyed the scene, not caring who won or lost. _'I broke my promise… I couldn't avenge you… DAMN IT! _Akio felt Muu's feet hit the ground behind him, and he lay in wait of his death. _'I'm sorry…'_

* * *

Nagato knew he was fine. The only thing that could make him lose to the Iwa-nin in front of him now was chakra-loss, and he didn't even notice he was missing any. He vaguely recalled someone saying be careful of hatred… but he mentally shrugged it off as his blasts of elemental attacks continued.

He would kill this man. He would burn his bones, scatter his ashes to the unforgiving wind. This man was a threat, and would be dealt with as such.

* * *

"Konan, I'm fine! Really!" Yahiko grumbled as the girl walked him away, supporting him as he stumbled.

"You caught me as I fell, what, four stories? That must have hurt," she replied, turning her head away from his ever-lasting grin. He couldn't even stop grinning when he was in battle, in pain, and _complaining _at the same time! _'Well… that is why I joined up with him in Amegakure, right? He was my only ray of sunshine at the time…'_

Yahiko scoffed. "Well, yeah it hurt! But I'm fine now-"

Yahiko was interrupted as Akio's body crashed into the ground just in front of them. The only way Yahiko knew he was still alive was his slight breathing; the man didn't even move his eyes or adjust even slightly from the position he was in. He was lying on his chest and his left arm was under him, his head turned in their direction but not seeming to register their presence. There was a pool of blood forming under his body.

Konan looked at the crumpled man in shock, and noticed the mummified man from earlier flying toward him, sword raised. _'Wait… Jiraiya said that's the Tsuchikage! We can't take him! I need to get Yahiko away from here…" _Konan pulled on Yahiko's arm, but was surprised when it pulled against her.

Yahiko broke free from Konan, leaving her to watch helplessly as he dashed slightly behind Akio. He seemed to pick something up on the way to the Momochi, before jumping in front of the Tsuchikage.

"Don't hurt our friend, idiot!" Yahiko brought Akio's smaller, blood-covered blade up to block the Tsuchikage's attack. Muu, who had lightened the sword to its original weight so he could carry it, didn't have time to reactivate the jutsu and cursed as the genin boy blocked his attack.

"Is everyone these days as disrespectful as you people?!" Muu swore again, backing off to address the boy's strength. He didn't want to be going against a child prodigy, after all…

Needless to say, Muu sweatdropped in disappointment. "Your form if horrible, brat!" he ridiculed as the orange-haired boy stood shakily with both feet parallel and the sword held a bit too high.

"Now, now…" a new voice entered the field, "you have to give him props for trying, right?"

"Well, Mizukage…" Muu murmured happily, turning away from his last targets. "I honestly thought you wouldn't show up! I mean, playing around with your body guard was fun and all, but it got boring after a while!"

* * *

**Author's notes: **I DID IT! WOO! I got the chapter out, and got the Second Mizukage to show up! Review for Yahiko awesomeness and Nagato rage! Then there's Jiraiya =P

On another note, chapter 1 will be revised to sound better soon and this chapter will be updated occasionally with mistakes that need fixing!

As always, favorite, follow and review!

**Suiton: Teppodama: Water Release: Water Bullets**

**Futon: Renkudan: Wind Release: Raging Air Bullets**

**Doton: Kengan no Jutsu: Earth Release: Stone Fist Technique**

**Jinton: Genkai Haruki no Jutsu: Dust Release: Detachment From the Primitive World Technique**

******Doton: Chokajugan no Jutsu**: Earth Release: Ultra-added Weight Rock Technique

Just noticed I forgot these last chap, will be fixed soon!


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